Smallscreen News

USA Network is summer smallscreen King, line up announced

By April MacIntyre Mar 22, 2010, 17:07 GMT

Jeff Goldblum, USA honcho Bonnie Hammer and Mark Feuerstein Fame Pictures, Inc - Santa Monica, CA, USA

Characters Welcome channel USA is home to great quirky comedies and dramedies that feature distinct storylines and fantastic ensemble casts.

Especially in "Royal Pains," "Burn Notice," "White Collar" and "In Plain Sight." 

What did we do for fun before Paulo Costanzo hit the smallscreen with Mark Feuerstein? Their chemistry turns out one of the best comedic teams on TV. 

USA Network, the #1 network in all of cable for four years running, will serve up its hottest summer TV destination with all new episodes of seven original series; Burn Notice, Royal Pains, White Collar, Psych, In Plain Sight, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and the launch of its newest “character” driven series, Covert Affairs. 

USA Network’s original series roll out schedule includes:

 
MARCH

LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT  (RETURNING SERIES)

Season nine of Law & Order: CI gets underway March 30th as we say goodbye to old friends and welcome new faces to the Major Case Squad. The series stars Jeff Goldblum as Detective Zach Nichols and Saffron Burrows as Detective Serena Stevens.

Burrows plays a highly educated, worldly single parent with a broad range of life experiences to draw upon in solving even the toughest of cases. Teamed with Detective Zach Nichols, they create a partnership of challenging intellect and street-smart savvy.

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio steps into the role of Captain Zoe Callas after an action-packed two-part series premiere.

The exciting guest line-up for season nine includes Dan Lauria (“The Wonder Years”), Ralph Macchio (“The Karate Kid”), Dan Butler (“Frasier,”) Tracy Pollan (“Law & Order: SVU”) and William Mapother (“Lost”).

Premieres Tuesday, March 30 at 10/9c

IN PLAIN SIGHT (RETURNING SERIES)

The most-watched series on basic cable Sundays in 2009 returns on March 31. The series stars Mary McCormack as Mary Shannon, a U.S. Marshal working in the highly secretive witness protection program (WITSEC).

Her job is to relocate Federal Witnesses, some of whom are career criminals, and some of whom are innocents who had the misfortune of witnessing a crime. But they all have one thing in common – someone wants them dead.

Mary's job is to make sure this doesn't happen, while at the same time dealing with her own dysfunctional family. The show also stars Frederick Weller, Nichole Hiltz and Paul Ben-Victor, along with returning guest-stars Lesley Ann Warren, Cristian de la Fuente, and Joshua Malina. 

Oscar, Emmy and Grammy winner Rita Moreno, four-time Emmy winner Allison Janney, Steven Weber, Tess Harper, Josh Cooke and Donnie Wahlberg have also been cast to guest star in season three in the USA Network hit original series.

Premieres Wednesday, March 31 at 10/9c

JUNE

BURN NOTICE (RETURNING SERIES)

Miami vice never looked better as Jeffrey Donovan stars as Michael Westen, a blacklisted spy who finds himself stranded in South Florida returns in June with all-new episodes. 

The action-packed season four commences with a new counterintelligence expert Jesse Garcia, played by Coby Bell who loves to fight bad guys just as much as Michael does. 

Heating up the night with our hot undercover agent are Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), a beautiful ex-IRA operative who also happens to be Michael’s ex-girlfriend; Sam (Bruce Campbell), a washed-up military intelligence contact who keeps an eye on Michael for the Feds; and his mother (Emmy Award-winner Sharon Gless).  

ROYAL PAINS (RETURNING SERIES)

This USA hit series was the top-ranked new series in cable history, delivering more key demos than the freshman year of any other scripted series in history.

The show stars Mark Feuerstein as Hank Lawson who after becoming blacklisted from the medical community revived his career as a "doctor for hire" to the rich, famous and infamous in the Hamptons. 

In addition to his wealthy patients, Hank treats the town’s less fortunate, and finds himself walking the line between doing well for himself and doing good for others. The show also stars Paulo Costanzo, Reshma Shetty and Jill Flint.  

Henry Winkler joins the cast this season as Eddie R. Lawson, Hank and Evan's father. 

JULY

COVERT AFFAIRS  (NEW SERIES)

Covert Affairs stars Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Kari Matchett and Anne Dudek with recurring guest star Peter Gallagher.

This series will premiere with a 90-minute episode followed by 11 one-hour episodes. In this new series, we meet Annie Walker (Perabo), a young CIA trainee who is thrust into the inner sanctum of the agency when she is unexpectedly promoted to field operative.

While it appears that she has been plucked from obscurity for her exceptional linguistic skills, there may be something or someone from her past that her CIA bosses are really after. 

Gorham plays Auggie Anderson, a CIA military intelligence agent, blinded while on assignment, and Annie's guide in this world of bureaucracy, excitement and intrigue.  Dudek plays Annie’s older sister, a married mother of two. Matchett plays Joan, head of the CIA’s Domestic Protection Division and wife of Gallagher’s Arthur, Director of Clandestine Services for the CIA.

WHITE COLLAR  (RETURNING SERIES)

WHITE COLLAR stars Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay, Tiffani Thiessen, Willie Garson and Sharif Atkins in one of this fall season’s most critically acclaimed dramas about the most unlikely of partnerships between a con artist and an FBI agent. 

The series also features James Rebhorn and Diahann Carroll, and Marsha Thomason re-joins the cast for season two.   This exciting crime-caper-drama, which was one of the #1 shows in cable of 2009, will kick off its second season this July with all new cases, more intrigue, more "bromance"...and more Matt Bomer, People Magazine's "Sexiest Rising Star" of 2009.

PSYCH  (RETURNING SERIES)

One of the seven original series that made USA #1 in basic cable for four years in a row and broke all records as the #1 original series premiere in 2006 returns this July. 

The cult favorite starring James Roday as police consultant Shawn Spencer who solves crimes with powers of observation so acute the precinct detectives think he's psychic. With the help from his best friend and reluctant sidekick, Gus (Dulé Hill) and his father, Henry (Corbin Bernsen), the guys continue to solve the mysterious and often bizarre crimes of the Santa Barbara Police Department.  Also starring Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson and Kirsten Nelson.