Burn Notice tv show on USA Network

Burn Notice is the newest original series from the USA Network. It stars Jeffrey Donovan as a spy who receives a "burn notice" which makes him persona non grata with all intelligence agencies.

He returns to his hometown of Miami to try and discover who did in his career and why. He funds his search for the truth by using his Special Ops training to help those who can't turn to the police for answers.

Burn Notice will air on Thursdays at 10 PM EST/9 PM CST on USA starting June 28. The first episode will be 90 minutes and there will be 11 episodes to follow.

Update: Burn Notice is now in its 3rd season as a summer show on the USA Network. You can buy seasons 1 and 2 on DVD, or download season 3 as it airs from Amazon. See the listings below for details.

This is Jeffrey Donovan's second series on the USA Network. The first one was the magnificent Touching Evil, but it never quite found an audience. Luckily, Burn Notice has proven very successful for USA and they have renewed it for a second season.

To learn more about Jeffrey Donovan, check out my Jeffrey Donovan page.

Jeffrey Donovan is probably best known for his starring role in the brilliant, but short-lived US Series, Touching Evil. Adapted from the British tv series starring Robson Green, Touching Evil is a terrific crime drama. Donan played a detective named David Creegan who has just returned to duty after recuperating from being shot in the head. As a result of his head injury he's had a significant personality change. Jeffrey Donovan's character is driven, motivated, entertaining and moving all at once and I hope some day that the entire series of Touching Evil is released on DVD.

In addition to Touching Evil, Jeffrey Donovan was also in the Blair Witch Project 2 and has also done a lot of guest stints on other television shows. Most recently he appeared on Crossing Jordan and Monk and he also had notable appearances on The Pretender and Spin City.

Bruce Campbell really needs no introduction. He's the cult favorite after his starring roles in Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and my personal favorite, Army of Darkness. On television he has starred in or played supporting roles in a number of sci-fi series, including The Adventures of Brisco County Jr, Jack of All Trades, Hercules and Xena, as well as Homicide: Life on the Street. Bruce Campbell has also done a lot of cameo appearances, including all three Spider-Man movies.

In Burn Notice, Bruce Campbell will be playing Sam, a former Navy SEAL and friend, who gets drafted into helping Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) on his various missions.

Update: Interview with Bruce Campbell about Burn Notice and his career

Gabrielle Anwar is a British actress currently starring in the Showtime Original Series, The Tudors, as Princess Margaret. She's also done some guest stints on The Practice and John Doe. She's probably best known for her roles in the films, The Three Muskateers and Body Snatchers. In Burn Notice, Anwar will play Weston’s ex, a former IRA terrorist and expert at survival tactics who has a love-hate relationship with him.

Sharon Gless will play Weston’s mother, a lonely, an aging chain smoker who has issues with her son. You'll probably remember Sharon Gless from Cagney & Lacey. She also starred in the Showtime series, Queer as Folk, and most recently was seen in the BBC series, The State Within.

A burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is an unreliable source of information or has become an unreliable source.

It is defined by the US Department of Defense's Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms as:

"an official statement by one intelligence agency to other agencies, domestic or foreign, that an individual or group is unreliable for any of a variety of reasons." From Wikipedia