Wired magazine estimated recently that 20 per cent of all new network shows in the US fit in to the heroic geek genre.
Shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Sarah Connor Chronicles and others come in addition to other nerd-centric hits like ABC's Ugly Betty, NBC's Heroes and the SciFi Channel's Battlestar Galactica.
In the movies, Harry Potter is an undeniable geek, but many other movies also paid homage to geeks, such as Judd Apatow's 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, or the gear-head fetish fests like Transformers.
"Geeks are the new cool," said Teri Weinberg, NBC Entertainment's executive vice president. "We are all gravitating towards the underdog."
Director Joseph McGinty Nichol, aka McG, who directed the Charlie's Angels movies before trying his hand at the Chuck pilot, says the trend is a mirror pointed back at US culture.
"There's always a delay between what's really happening in the streets and what you see reflected in the movie theatres on Friday and on network television night-in, night-out," he told Wired.
"The classic shape of the computer geek is over when Bill Gates became the (richest), most aspirational, coolest guy in the world," he said. "He is the original thick-glasses, pocket-protector guy. Now who doesn't want to be like Bill Gates?"