Jeffrey Donovan Fans

Matt Nix serves as Executive Producer, Writer, and Creator of the USA Network original series Burn Notice.

If you are unfamiliar with the premise, the series is an irreverent take on classic spy thrillers that works in a bit of “MacGyver” derring-do for Donovan’s Westen, and adds the comedic spice of the great Bruce Campbell, who classes up any project he is involved in. Westen is a “burned” spy without a country, and fights to get his identity restored.

The series was last year’s top new cable series and has performed beautifully for USA, which features programming that welcomes the “character” in their unique programming.

Monsters and Critics joined a small select few online journalists and spoke to Matt about the hit USA series.

The story is obviously centered on Sam and Michael’s relationship but the women are really interesting and the fact that they have such an upper hand over Michael in many aspects, whether it’s Carla or Fi, emotionally, and then of course Sharon Gless’s character, Madeline. I’m interested in how you’re pulling out the women’s stories in Burn Notice. I’d like to know where you’re going to take Fi and Madeline and Carla this season as we progress.

M. Nix Well, first of all I guess I’d say I’m glad you say that about the women. I’d say even for a lot of our guest stars like our—think about the second episode this season—our powerless waitress turned out to be a DEA agent who pulls a gun on Michael and certainly I know speaking for myself and I think all of the writers, we just think that’s fun. We’re always looking for what if this woman was more powerful, it just makes for more fun sparring and we really wanted Michael with regard to Fiona to be—I always enjoyed the idea that she is Michael’s equal in a lot of ways, and I confess I also enjoy the irony that the woman who weighs less than 100 pounds is the heavy on the show.

But I’d say with regard to where is it going, for Michael’s mom we found that or I found that the most interesting and fruitful direction to go in is to really explore how is Madeline like Michael.

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USA has distinguished itself in recent years as the oddball network—home of the misfits and safe haven for the dysfunctional. And that’s not just the viewers. The network’s slogan is “Characters welcome,” as in “That guy’s a real character.” The best illustration of the slogan is “Monk”—the series itself, which is now in its seventh season, and the character Adrian Monk, a sad, annoying, touching, and inadvertently funny obsessive-compulsive former police detective, still played beautifully after all these years by Tony Shalhoub. The stable grew two years ago with “Psych,” last summer with “Burn Notice,” and this summer with “In Plain Sight.” (USA also shows episodes of the Fox series “House,” and an ugly homegrown thing called “Dr. Steve-O,” one of those shows starring an incorrigible jackass—in this case, a guy named Steve-O, who is an actual alumnus of MTV’s “Jackass”—and involving people who dunk their heads in a tub of fish guts and do handstands on broken glass.)

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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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Play BURN NOTICE: COVERT OPS and you could win a new SAAB convertible! Covert Ops is an online Alternate Reality Experience that puts you in the position of aiding Michael Westen, a burned spy chock full of experience, morality, and wit. You will join his team and learn the tricks of spycraft.

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.