BurnNotice-related stories
Posted Oct 16th 2009 10:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
Tricia Helfer is a really, really good actress. Before she was killed on
Burn Notice, I wanted her dead for what she did to Michael. On
Battlestar Galactica, as Six, she was a stone cold Cylon killer. She's very good at convincing me that she's dangerous. But can she do comedy? Hmm ... I guess we're going to find out.
Tricia Helfer will guest on Two and a Half Men in an upcoming episode.
According to Michael Ausiello of EW.com, Tricia will be playing a good friend of Charlie's fiancee, Chelsea, who has recently ended a bad relationship. As an act of kindness, Chelsea asks her to come out to Malibu for a visit.
Continue reading Two and a Half Men meet Tricia Helfer
Posted Oct 9th 2009 11:35AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
Let me start by confessing that every morning, I watched Bravo's back-to-back episodes of
The West Wing. That means I get a dose of Bradley Whitford every weekday. Then, there's
Burn Notice, created by
Matt Nix. I don't miss any of those shows either.
So, the news that
Bradley Whitford is signed for Jack and Dan, Matt Nix's new series for Fox, was happy indeed. My reaction was enthusiastic optimism bordering on a reason to sing.
"Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh, what a beautiful day... "Continue reading Bradley Whitford teams with Burn Notice scribe Matt Nix
Posted Sep 10th 2009 10:03AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
Some have made the argument that actor Ted McGinley is the patron saint of all things television. I mean, sure Teddy-M.C. has a wide and varied career and holds the power to destroy entire series with his very presence.
Well Mr. McGinley, I've met Bruce Campbell (once, almost, it's a long story). I know Bruce Campbell (not really, but
Bob probably knows him better than I do). And you, sir, are no Bruce Campbell.
And just to prove it, let me pose a question: has anyone ever held a "Ted McGinley Watch" in his television honor? I didn't think so. Writer and blogger John Sellers has revived the annual TV tradition on his popular
True/Slant blog.
Continue reading Groovy! John Sellers brings Bruce Campbell Watch back from the dead
Posted Sep 4th 2009 1:05PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Utilizing the same international cost-cutting model that brought us
Mental and
Defying Gravity this summer,
FOX is moving forward with Jack and Dan, a comedic procedural from Matt Nix. Nix is best known for being the creator of
Burn Notice, a smoking hit for USA.
J&D is more a straight-up cop drama, telling the story of two partners on the street.
Jack is ambitious and follows the rules. Dan is a drunken lech who should have been fired years ago. Probably would have been, too, if it weren't for a heroic act earlier in his career. I have to say, lighter fare is a better direction for these lower budget direct-to-series projects than what we saw this summer.
Cable has it right. People want fun and sexy for summer. The shows under this model get a 13-episode commitment; so why not go all the way with it and try to compete directly with cable? After all, cable is winning summers right now.
Continue reading Burn Notice creator Nix bringing similar tone to FOX's Jack and Dan
Posted Aug 29th 2009 1:30PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
Summer Glau isn't the only
Terminator alum heading to a high-profile show next season. The cool and creepy Garrett Dillahunt has
landed a role on USA's Burn Notice. Dillahunt will play Simon, Michael's super smart new client, when the show returns in the winter.
It's unclear whether this is a guest stint or a recurring role, but chances are good that Dillahunt will be sticking around for a while. The actor has made memorable guest stints on
Life,
CSI,
and
Law & Order: SVU, and critics praised his recent big screen performance in
The Last House on the Left.
Continue reading Terminator's Garret Dillahunt lands role on Burn Notice
Posted Aug 28th 2009 9:29AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Ratings, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
Lost in all the news of the
major networks' summer decline and the struggles of the pay channels and the ongoing soap operas of the endless reality shows is the news that
Burn Notice is very quietly becoming a major ratings player on cable.
What originally looked like a silly, self-referential genre show tucked in after wrestling on the USA Network,
Burn Notice is one of the biggest hits on cable. It doesn't get the critical love of
Mad Men, but it has a lot of fans.
According to a USA press release, the show's August airings are burning down nine million viewers at a pop -- making it the period's most watch scripted episodic on cable.
It's now USA's most-watched original series ever with 9.1 million viewers during August episodes -- the first time a USA original series has broken the nine million viewers benchmark.
Continue reading Burn Notice quietly catches fire in the ratings
Posted Aug 27th 2009 9:02AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
What an interesting summer for television. In general, the claim that
television viewing reached an all-time high this summer doesn't really surprise me. After all, we're in what the media tells us is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. That means more people out of work and less money for everybody.
People out of work and unable to find work are going to be bored, so they're going to watch television. People with less money are going to stay home more often, so they're going to watch television. That part makes sense to me. The part that is a little surprising, but only a little, is that all of that record viewing went to the cable networks and not the big four.
There was not a single break-out summer success story on ABC, CBS, NBC or FOX. Every single show they put on the air either crashed and burned, or barely stayed afloat. But the story is so very different on cable. Week after week we got new stories about original series breaking records on almost every network.
Continue reading TV just had its most-watched summer ever while the big four struggled
Posted Aug 26th 2009 10:00AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, CSI, House, Law and Order, Lost, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, Burn Notice, The Mentalist
The fine art of interrogation may seem lost thanks to suspects lawyering up and the Miranda warning. Whatever happened to the days when a snarling cop could throw a perp against a brick wall to get him to squeal? Or a sly questioner could finagle a confession by laying on a guilt trip? Still, there are some very clever, brilliant interrogators plying their trade on these days. In fact, when you look at these eight interrogators, you'll probably agree that they know just how to get to the truth. Here are the eight top interrogators on TV today:
8. Captain James Brass, CSIBrass is the most "old school" of all these interrogators. He's like Andy Sipowicz from
NYPD Blue, only without the violence. Brass talks to suspects with a modicum of respect, but a healthy cynicism. He's seen it all and knows the truth is in there somewhere. He asks questions and waits for them to trip themselves up. When they do, he has them write it down. Despite the laconic attitude, Brass has the brass to get the job done.
Continue reading Eight of TV's toughest interrogators
Posted Aug 10th 2009 3:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Ratings, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
A lot of times, the news about ratings isn't good. Or not good enough, so shows that you care about have to hope for the kindness of TV executives to give that show more time to improve or find a new time slot or something ... just to survive. That's why it's such a pleasure that
Burn Notice did great in the ratings for the summer season finale last Thursday. According to the numbers, 7.6 million total viewers were glued to the set, the most eyeballs for any scripted TV shows that night.
Continue reading Great news for Burn Notice
Posted Aug 7th 2009 1:43AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E09) Wow! Talk about a powerful finale. There were a lot of plot points and emotional issues addressed, and if you had any question about Michael's true loyalty, this show answered it.
Burn Notice goes on hiatus -- is that what they call it? -- till the winter, and it's going to be a long rest of the summer and fall waiting for the story to resume. There was change in the air, what with Michael inching closer to a return to the CIA -- or so it seemed. More on all that and the blistering finale after the jump.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Long Way Back (summer finale)
Posted Aug 4th 2009 8:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, OpEd, Law and Order, Pickups and Renewals, Ratings, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
Things are really cooking at the USA Network. Not only has the new show
Royal Pains been renewed for a second season, but
Burn Notice is also coming back for a fourth.
Law and Order: Criminal Intent is on the verge of being re-upped, and now
In Plain Sight has just gotten a pick-up for Season Three.
Wow! Talk about a winning formula. This part of the Universal family, as opposed to NBC, seems to have figured out how to make dramas work and work well.
Continue reading USA signs up for more In Plain Sight
Posted Aug 1st 2009 2:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Casting, Emmys, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
Based on the previews showing Strickler asking Michael to turn on Fiona, the summer season finale of
Burn Notice promises to be a bang-up episode. Especially after Fiona walked out on Michael last week because of his obsession with getting back in the intelligence community, i.e. getting the burn notice lifted. However, amid all those hijinks will be a reunion that many, many fans will be tuning in to see --
Cagney and Lacey. That's right,
Tyne Daly is guesting on Burn Notice with her former partner
Sharon Gless, a.k.a. Michael's mom.
It's taken more than a year for the powers that be to swing this casting coup, and not surprisingly, they've saved it for the season finale. I'm just hoping that they've found a way to weave it into the main story and not make it just a silly subplot, because Daly and Gless deserve a showcase.
Continue reading Burn Notice reuniting Cagney and Lacey this week - UPDATE
Posted Jul 31st 2009 3:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E08) In the latest Michael adventure, our hero was hell-bent on getting back into intelligence work – nothing new, really. However, that meant dancing with Strickler, a foxtrot that Fiona was reluctant to take part in ...
More on Fiona's vulnerabilities after the jump. Meanwhile, another job popped up when Barry, money launderer and occasional member of the Michael troupe of operatives, called in all his favors and became the client.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Friends Like These
Posted Jul 30th 2009 1:29PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, Reality-Free
The Rockford Files was one of my favorite shows as a kid. When I got my first car I even looked around for one just like his. So this news that
NBC is doing a remake of the show has me both excited and scared. Why try to redo one of the classic private eye shows of all-time?
Maybe because it
is one of the classic private eye shows of all-time.
House creator David Shore is writing a new, updated version of the show, and if there's one thing that makes me feel better about it is the fact that Shore hates updating shows like this but made an exception because it's one of his favorite shows, too.
Continue reading NBC is bringing back The Rockford Files
Posted Jul 29th 2009 9:00PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Burn Notice, The Mentalist
Sometimes when I'm watching USA Network, I'm as tickled with the promotions for the shows as I am the shows themselves. That's saying a lot, because as a rule, networks are not very clever about commercials hawking their shows. However, USA is the exception to the rule. Just yesterday,
Kona wrote about the Psych promo that took a shot at
The Mentalist -- completely justified, too -- and here's another that caught my eye. It's a tribute to Monk.
This is the last season for
Monk, so USA gathered some of the stars -- in character -- from its other programs to give a little tribute to Adrian Monk. What a stroke of genius!
Continue reading USA scores with Monk tribute promo
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