Jeffrey Donovan Fans

Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan chats to TV WEEK about being a super-spy

Where do the Burn Notice writers get all their information about spies?
The head writer has contact with a certain operative in the field. I don’t know what agency he works for, whether it’s American or foreign. They go over stuff that will be practical and used in conducting cases. He’ll learn all that stuff and then apply it to the show. But there’s also a lot of stuff out there that you can read. I’ve read a few spy manuals and it’s really interesting what you can get your hands on at the library.

Do you ever try to follow people without them noticing or elude people who are following you?
Yeah, I’ve been doing that since before I got the show. [Laughs.] No, it definitely gives you a sense of how paranoid these people must be. One of the things I learned [about spies] is you can never make new friends unless you are the person who initiates it. All the people who come up to you, you can’t be friends with because you never know what their agenda is. But if you go up to someone, that’s OK. That limits a lot of social life. It’s a neat character but someone I wouldn’t want to be in real life.

As a celebrity, you’re kind of in the same situation, aren’t you? You have strange people wanting to come up and talk to you…

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Michael is busy working on his burn notice, so you will need to help Fiona with a client. CASSIE, a cute, 20-something girl next door has gotten herself caught up in a gun-running scheme. The ATF thinks she’s a major part of it and if they catch her, she’ll be locked away. Even if they believe she is innocent, the gun-runners will be looking to make sure she never talks. It’s going to be up to you to get both of these groups off her back, perma­nently.

The second season premiere of USA Network’s Burn Notice burned up the Nielsens.

The series, starring Jeffrey Donovan as a spy who has been given his exit papers in Miami, set series marks in total viewers and key demos with its July 10 airing.

Averaging a 4.02 household rating, Burn Notice pulled in 5.4 million total viewers in the 10 p.m. hour, according to Nielsen Media Research data. Also included in that base were 2.69 million adults 25 to 54 and 2.36 million adults 18 to 49, the show’s top performance against those demos. Burn Notice also played to some 924,000 persons 18 to 34.

The figures represented gains of 35%, 23% and 19% versus total viewers, adults 25 to 54 and adults 18 to 49, respectively, from the series premiere June 28, 2007. Moreover, the July 10 Burn Notice debut rang up amelioration of 33%, 30% and 25% when gauged against the show’s first season averages, according to network officials.

The top show in all of cable on Thursday night, Burn Notice led USA to the top of the medium, relative to viewers 18 to 49 and 25 to 54. The installment trailed only NBC in the 10 p.m. hour in all of TV.

Year to date, Burn Notice ranked as the No.2 original scripted telecast among adults 25 to 54 on cable, trailing only the Monk season finale on Feb. 22, which also produced that show’s best-ever mark with total viewers: 6.88 million.

Source: Multichannel News