Bilson getting Chuck-ed

Josh Schwartz has connections. At age 31, the television producer already has made his mark in the industry, creating the guilty pleasure The O.C., as well as two more buzzed-about shows this year--NBC's Chuck and The CW's Gossip Girl.

The wunderkind is pulling a veteran move by tapping into his old network for one of his new projects. NBC has announced that Rachel Bilson, one of the stars of The O.C., will appear in a multi-episode arc on Chuck this October.

"We were talking and thought it would be fun to work together again, even for a few weeks," Schwartz said of Bilson. "Having worked with her for four years, I know how funny Rachel is and what a good match she'd make for the show, and for [Chuck lead] Zach Levi. For a first-year series, it's really hard to get big name guest stars, so we're all really excited and grateful that she could do this."

The action-comedy Chuck stars Levi (Less Than Perfect) as Chuck Bartowski, a nerdy computer pro who accidentally has FBI and CIA secrets uploaded to his brain. The government wants to use him as a secret agent, his workplace (a Best Buy carbon copy) wants him at the computer-help kiosk, and his enemies want him dead.

Bilson will play a "romantic possibility" for Chuck, but it may not end in a loving embrace. NBC says, "Like all people in Chuck's new spy-infested world, she may not turn out to be so perfect--or even who she says she is."

In addition to The O.C., Bilson recently costarred with Zach Braff (Scrubs) in The Last Kiss and just finished shooting Doug Liman's next movie, Jumper.

Chuck premieres on Monday, September 24. For more information, check out TV.com's previous coverage.