Burn Notice
With the likes of Heroes, 24, Prison Break and more finished for the summer, action fans can get their kicks on one of the USA Networks' new shows this summer. Burn Notice features a spy (Jeffrey Donavan) disavowed by the company, turning to odd jobs in Miami until he can get back on his feet. Writer and executive producer Matt Nix previewed the show for us.
Matt Nix Talks Burn Notice
"A lot of what we were interested in is portraying [was] somebody with really interesting skills, somebody who can improvise, somebody who you can put in any situation and he can handle it in a really sort of interesting, fun-to-watch way, but somebody who isn't a superhero," said Nix. "So a lot of what I've seen in this arena, when you think 'spy,' you think about a superhero, like a guy who is not a guy you could know. And what we were really interested in and what I think Jeff does so well is showing one of these guys as a real guy who has real problems and interacts with the world in a real way and just happens to be able to build a weapon out of the cutlery on the table at a restaurant."
Of course, if the CIA didn't want one of their spies around, wouldn't they just kill him? "We'd have to watch the series to find out, wouldn't we? No, it's a great question, and it's a question that he asks in the pilot. 'Why didn't they just kill me?' And then Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) says, 'Why didn't they just kill you? I would have just killed you.' So yeah, you're absolutely right. It's a very important question that the first season is actually about answering. Like why did they keep him alive? They don't keep him alive unless they need him for something, and maybe they'll need him for something."
Miami seems like an unusual setting for a spy show. It turns out, that wasn't Nix's original choice. "So I pitched a show to USA that was set in fabulous Newark, New Jersey. And when I pitched it, they were like, 'Great. We're really excited. It's a little dark for us.' And I turned in the first thing, and they were like, 'Great. How about someplace other than Newark?' I was like, 'Oh, thank you so much for sharing. That's terrific. It's just its roots are really in Newark, and it needs to be in Newark.' I turned in the next thing, and they were like, 'No, really, how about someplace lighter?' 'See, it's just it's got to be Newark.' Then I turned in the next thing, and they said, 'So it's Miami.' I said, 'Thank you so much. It's Miami.'"
Of course, now Nix agrees. "We were really blessed in the development of the show. Once I got into it, I was sort of like, 'You're right. It's better.' Because seeing him as a fish out of water, a lot of what Michael does, you think about what's a spy? A spy is a guy that we send to other countries to break their laws on our behalf. Most of their skills are criminal skills. I mean, they're sort of working in the shadows and stuff like that. And so putting him in a place where everybody was breaking the law all the time wasn't as much fun as seeing him in a place that was bright and shiny where who he is really stands out. Plus there are more bathing suits, so that's nice."
Burn Notice premieres June 28th at 10PM on USA.
Stay tuned for updates.
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