matt nix-related stories
Posted Jan 20th 2010 10:00AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: TV Royalty, Interviews, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
Back in 2008, I was lucky enough to get to visit the set of
Burn Notice and interview Sharon Gless. At that time, Sharon said that she was trying to get her co-star from
Cagney & Lacey -- and good friend -- Tyne Daly to guest on
Burn Notice, but Tyne was only interested if she could play her part sans words. "Tyne said, 'I'll do it, but I want to play her as a mute.' Only Tyne Daly! And believe me, she'll steal the show. Matt said he wants to use her -- but not as a mute!"
Tomorrow night,
Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless will be reunited on TV in an episode of Burn Notice called "The Dark Road." Tyne Daly will not be playing a mute. In fact, according to Sharon, "It's very, very unusual the situations that they put me in with Tyne. They had me go undercover." It sounds like a fun way to kick off the second half of season three. And hopefully, Tyne Daly will get to watch it. You see, in a recent conference call with the two stars, Ms. Daly and Ms. Gless talked about working together again and more.
Continue reading Burn Notice reunites Cagney & Lacey stars Tyne Daly & Sharon Gless
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 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 19th 2008 11:21AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Emmys, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
Here's a neat idea: the
Burn Notice promotional kits that USA Network sent out to Emmy voters were written in invisible ink! You needed a UV flashlight to read the words, which was included in the kit.
The Denver Egoist has all of the details and several pics from the kit, created by TDA Advertising in Boulder, CO.
The kit, which contains 12 episodes of the show on four DVDs, is set up to look like a classified file, and though some of the words are legible, you need the flashlight to read the others. Very cool and very spy-ish, though I wonder if they should have done it a different way. Isn't the preferred method of getting secret messages to Michael via a crossword puzzle? They should have included a secret message about the show inside of a crossword too.
Continue reading Burn Notice promo kits are cool, but ...
Posted Aug 8th 2008 4:23PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Interviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
When Matt Weiner was a successful sitcom writer -- CBS's
Becker -- he had this idea for another kind of show. He couldn't figure out how to pitch it, so he wrote a sample script.
The Sopranos' creator David Chase read it and hired him. After copping a couple of Emmys for his work on that HBO drama, Weiner finally got his spec script sold. Now,
Mad Men has earned 16 Emmy nominations and Matt Weiner is working on the second season of the show.
Recently, for
TV Week, I interviewed Matt about the Emmy nominations. Here are some other thoughts he shared with me about
Mad Men:
TVS: What's the show all about to you?Matt Weiner: A lot of the episodes are about "who am I." A lot of the shows are about what's embarrassing. A lot of it's about denial, about how we juggle our work and our private lives. A lot of the issues that came up in the early 1960s are really hitting us right now.
Continue reading Matt Weiner of Mad Men: The TV Squad Interview
Posted Jun 27th 2008 5:43PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Reality-Free, Burn Notice
In case you didn't know it,
Bruce Campbell is my new BFF. Ever since my
visit to the set, I have a new appreciation for the man. So, it pains me to report that Bruce recently was filming in Miami when he came up lame.
While chatting with Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, creator Matt Nix was talking about the new season of
Burn Notice -- more on that below -- when he casually mentioned
Bruce Campbell was hurt on the set. "He actually just pulled his hamstring doing a stunt, I just got a call, he's on the way to the hospital."
Continue reading Bruce Campbell injured on Burn Notice set
Posted Jun 27th 2008 10:41AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Interviews, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
On my recent
visit to the set of Burn Notice, I had the pleasure of meeting the cast, including the irrepressible
Bruce Campbell, the plucky Gabrielle Anwar, and the fascinating star of the show, Jeffrey Donovan. They were all wonderful and I was thrilled to participate in a round-table interview with them. However, when I had the chance to shake the hand of
Sharon Gless, the Emmy-winning actress who starred in
Cagney & Lacey, The Trials of Rosie O'Neill and played amazing characters on
Queer as Folk and Nip/Tuck, I have to confess -- I gushed. I couldn't help it. She's Sharon Gless!
I discovered that as brilliant as she is a performer, Sharon Gless is also a class act with the media. She talked about another
Cagney & Lacey, Tyne Daly, acting, playing villains,
Kim Cattrall and much more. Read on and you'll see -- as I did -- why you'd gush to if you were face-to-face with Sharon Gless.
Continue reading Sharon Gless: The TV Squad Interview
Posted Jun 24th 2008 10:57AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Interviews, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
Miami in June is hot. Very hot. On the set of
Burn Notice, however, everything is cool. In fact, when I arrive at the Coconut Grove studios where the USA spy drama is shot, I find myself smack dab in the middle of a full-fledged film studio.
The old convention center, where I remember going to an indoor flea market in the late 1970s, has been completely transformed. There are trailers, production offices, standing sets, all geared up and working to bring
Burn Notice back for season two.
Continue reading Burn Notice: A day on the set
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