The good news, if that’s an accurate description, is that Kings held steady among 18–49-year-olds, more or less maintaining a 1.6 rating (average percentage of U.S. households tuned into the show) and 4 share (average percentage of televisions in use that were tuned into the show) for that big-deal (at least to advertisers) demographic.

The bad news is that the overall ratings consistently bled over the course of the two-hour time slot, going from 6.47 million (8–8:30pm EST) to 6.33 million (8:30pm–9pm) to 5.71 million (9pm–9:30pm) to finally 5.49 million (9:30pm–10pm). That’s a loss of nearly one million viewers from start to finish.

How do we know this is a poor performance, even if we have no clue what adequate or great ratings are? Well, the top primetime show of the night was ABC’s Desperate Housewives (of course) at 9pm, which raked in 14.44 million total viewers and achieved a 5.0/12 for the 18–49 demographic. Even Fox’s least-watched animated series of the night, King of the Hill, managed a 2.4/6 with an overall audience of just 5.38 million viewers.

I still haven’t had a chance to check out the Kings two-parter “Goliath” — so I can’t offer any assessments about quality at the moment — but I can’t help feeling bad for the cast and crew that it didn’t perform better. With a star like Ian McShane, surely the show couldn’t have been that awful and deserved a warmer reception and higher numbers. I guess I’ll see soon enough when I watch the episode.

Despite hearing quite a bit of buzz about NBC’s latest drama Kings, I somehow haven’t developed any interest in the series. I’ll check it out all the same when the network airs the two-hour premiere “Goliath” tomorrow night at 8pm EST.

The series, which stars Deadwood alum Ian McShane, has been enthusiastically promoted as a “contemporary re-telling of the timeless tale of David and Goliath,” the network’s words, not mine.

McShane plays King Silas Benjamin, leader of Gilboa, a mighty kingdom experiencing escalating problems with Gath, another nation not too far away. As tends to happen, something goes down between the two, resulting in Gath holding several of Silas’ people as prisoners of war.

To the rescue comes young and brash soldier David Shepherd (Eragon‘s Chris Egan, pictured above at right), who ignores orders, enters enemy lands to save the captives, and ends up returning the king’s son Jack (Sebastian Stan of The Covenant). Entanglements and much drama ensue, some involving the king’s wife Queen Rose (Once & Again‘s Susanna Thompson) and their daughter Michelle (Allison Miller, Lucy’s Piano).

Perhaps it’s an aversion to the whole royalty thing that’s dampening any excitement I might have to see Kings, although I always enjoy watching cast members Dylan Baker (Requiem for a Dream), Wes Studi (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee), and Eamonn Walker (Oz) in anything. Hopefully, the show will turn out to be genuinely good and will change my mind within a few episodes.

Sample a preview promo below before the big NBC event on March 15 at 8pm EST. Following the special extended premiere, Kings will air Sundays from 8pm–9pm for the remaining 11 episodes of its freshman run.

The folks over at The Peacock have been doing some serious spring cleaning when it comes to a half dozen reality series (formerly) on its slate. As a result, prepare to say goodbye to American Gladiators, The Baby Borrowers, Celebrity Circus, Celebrity Family Feud, Last Comic Standing, and Nashville Star if you’re a fan.

Following a press release on Thursday announcing the summer run of two new reality series and returning favorite America’s Got Talent, The Futon Critic reports today that network insiders have confirmed the demise of the previously mentioned six NBC reality shows and the eventual departure of two more, America’s Toughest Jobs and Momma’s Boys.

On the brighter side, in addition to the June 23 fourth-season premiere of Talent, NBC will debut I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! on June 1 (the series first aired on ABC in 2003) and Great American Road Trip on July 1.

Both newcomers are based on originals from across the pond, although only the second one sounds like something I would actually watch … if there were absolutely nothing else on TV. I don’t have anything against the specific shows themselves. Except for the rare gem — such as Top Chef, for instance — I’m just not a fan of the genre in general, as some readers probably know.

Also, to my dismay, NBC has cut the one-season horror anthology Fear Itself, too.

If you’re of a certain age, there’s no doubt you remember the 1979–1986 CBS medical drama Trapper John, M.D., a spinoff of the Robert Altman film MASH starring Pernell Roberts as the title character and a young Gregory Harrison as his colleague, Dr. George Alonzo “Gonzo” Gates, a brilliant surgeon.

Nowadays, Harrison doesn’t have a regular role on a television show, but he has something similar in the successful TV-movie franchise Au Pair. The first entry in the series debuted way back in the summer of 1999, and now ABC Family is preparing for the premiere of the third, Au Pair 3: Adventure in Paradise, this Sunday night, March 15, at 8pm EST.

Harrison plays Oliver Caldwell, a wealthy businessman, husband, and father of two teenagers and one toddler, who decides he’s ready for some quality family time in Puerto Rico. Since the previous two movies were such hits, there are definitely a lot of fans eager to share some more quality time with the Caldwell family, too.

Earlier this week, Harrison sat down to answer questions about the trilogy, as well as his career and whether we’ll see an Au Pair 4 eventually. Not only do viewers have Sunday’s premiere to look forward to, but also a couple of pretty smokin’ upcoming feature films and TV projects with Harrison, as well. Continue reading to learn all about it.

What’s So Special About Au Pair & Oliver Caldwell?

What originally drew you to the role in the first Au Pair?

GREGORY HARRISON: Well, I thought it was a really charming, wonderful script. You know, at the time, that was the year 2000, believe it or not, and it just seemed like [Oliver Caldwell] was a humanized character who came from big business, and it just felt like there was a sense of humor and a kind of bonding within the family that I thought was universal and would resonate with people. It was a character unlike any that I had really played before.

I’ve played a lot of big shots, so to speak, in my life, but this guy had a kind of sweetness that I had seldom seen in characters that I’ve been offered, and I wanted to go there with this character. And as we were making the movie, I also realized that there was a kind of sweetness in the family as a whole. And I think that is why the first one did so incredibly well in the ratings and deserved to become part of a franchise, you know, that it led to the next two.

Where do you draw your inspiration from in your portrayal of Oliver Caldwell?

GREGORY HARRISON: Well, you know, the nice thing about this character is that he doesn’t act like your typical CEO rich guy. He wasn’t written that way. He doesn’t deal with his family typically as one would think the CEO does. This character, what I liked about him in the original, and has continued to be a through line for the character, is that he struggles with the balance between business and his family, that it never actually is in good balance.

It’s never really in good balance, and it’s a constant dilemma for him. Well, that’s true in my own life. I’ve always been fighting. I have four kids who are all in their late teens or early twenties now and I’ve never found a happy balance between my work and my family. But I’ve always tried. I always strive for it. So, I related to Oliver on that level tremendously, and that really is, I think, the strongest part of his character through line. You know, and it’s easy—

I mean you play a scene in a plane or you play it in a tent, the scene is the same. You know, if it’s his private jet or if it’s in a banged up old car, the emotions of the scene are the same. So, it’s really not about anything else regarding this character. It’s about what’s in his heart and what his priorities are.

Cast Chemistry

How does the cast continue to maintain such great chemistry with each other?

GREGORY HARRISON: I don’t know that we do anything on purpose to make that happen. It existed in the first one. We became very close friends. I do look at those two kids, then, as family members of mine, and now they’ve grown up and become these young adults that I continue to think of paternally. And they kind of welcome it. I think we just have a really nice chemistry together that continues to translate well to the screen.

What is your favorite thing about working with Heidi Lenhart?

GREGORY HARRISON: Oh, Heidi is just a really wonderful human being. And, you know, besides the obvious attributes of her beauty, she’s got a kind of sweetness and nobility combination that I think attracts the audience. And it certainly was attractive to me the first time I met her.

And she’s easy to work with, you know. Always accessible and interested in the same things I’m interested in, you know, in making the best possible film even under duress and kind of gorilla filmmaking techniques that we sometimes had to employ in all three of these to try and get the best of the locations.

And she was always game. She’s always willing. And I really enjoy her company, and I think it’s mutual. And she loves kids, too. She actually has a couple of her own now. So, I think that she really enjoyed, as I think it translates in the film, she really enjoys spending time with our movie kids, and they totally accepted her [in] the role of mom.

What is your favorite thing about working with Katie Mealia and Jake Dinwiddie?

GREGORY HARRISON: Katie and Jake are, you know, they’re not only adorable at first glance. As you get to know them, you also see a mischievous side that I’m not sure that any of our movies really do justice to, just how mischievous those two can be, particularly with each other.

They’re brutally mischievous with each other, and I can’t even go into some of the things that they have done to humiliate each other while we were on locations. But they’re pranksters and they make each other laugh and they are relentless. And I just love hanging around that and watching them do it.

They’ve done a few things to me, but nothing serious. I think actually there’s a video on the website that shows Jake took great glee in that Katie locked herself out of her room under a balcony one night. And he actually went out and [videotaped] her. Rather than getting help to get her off the balcony, he [videotaped] her stuck out there for the longest time just so that he could put it on the website and humiliate her.

Memorable Moments

What was your favorite part of working on the movie?

GREGORY HARRISON: That I finally was able to actually surf on film, something I’ve been doing since I was nine. It really is probably the passion of my life, and I was actually able to spend a couple of days just filming beach and surf and being probably closer to who I am than anything else I’ve done.

Was Au Pair 3 your favorite of the three movies?

GREGORY HARRISON: Yes, that’s true. It really is where I’m most comfortable. You know, I was born on an island, and any time you put me on an island, I’m feeling at home. Anytime you put me in the ocean, I’m feeling even more comfortable than when I’m on land. So, I was in my element.

What was your most memorable moment while filming Au Pair 3?

GREGORY HARRISON: Gosh, we had so much fun in Puerto Rico. We were up in the rain forest and we were shooting a lot of scenes, sort of struggling to act nonchalant and relaxed in a situation that was filled with mosquitoes and lots of hot sun. And, you know, it’s one of those— Typical of acting in most movies, there’s a lot of external, bothersome elements that you have to pretend don’t exist. So, we had a lot of fun with that and we bonded even more with that.

When I was surfing, there’s a scene. I think you’ve seen it probably in the promos, where I’m actually surfing because I am a surfer. But my son, Jake Dinwiddie — in the movie his name is not Jake, that’s who he really is — had to go out and surf, try to surf. And he has never surfed in his life.

And what little you see of him failing in the movie was just a small taste of just how badly he [was at] it in real life. And I tell you, all of us showed up at the dailies the next day to watch that footage because we had tears running down our faces with what a, in surf lingo, what a kook he was. And I’m not sure he’s lived that down yet.

Puerto Rico

What kind of different challenges were there to filming this movie compared to the other two?

GREGORY HARRISON: You know, all of the movies had their specific challenges because they were all shot on locations that were not necessarily film-friendly. They were all very cinematic and beautiful, but we had to struggle. You know a television movie is shot on a very tight schedule, and weather and language and all these other things can interfere with that schedule.

And we had the same problems in Puerto Rico. You know, not everyone spoke English. Despite the fact that it’s a territory of the U.S., it’s mostly Spanish down there. And we were shooting, as I said earlier, in the rain forest much of it.

And there’s only like one road that goes around the entire outside of the island, and we shot in all four corners of that island. So, we often had to make moves in the middle of the day, and we’d run into traffic jams and not be able to get to our location in time to really do justice to how many shots we had to get.

It was just— It was a constant struggle against the sun, the mosquitoes, the elements of tropical weather. It was a rough go as filmmaking goes. But on the other hand, I don’t want to sound like it wasn’t fun. I mean we are shooting in a tropical place that’s beautiful, and being stuck in traffic in Puerto Rico is a heck of a lot better than being stuck in traffic in L.A., let me tell you.

Did you manage to get in any vacation time while you were in such a beautiful location?

GREGORY HARRISON: Oh, yes, yes, yes. First of all, a lot of what we shoot is on the locations that if you were a tourist you would go to anyway. And Puerto Rico is just filled with beautiful landscapes, some really interesting history in San Juan. And then it has the rain forest, which we shot a lot in, and that’s world class rain forest with lots of environmental and ecological tours and information. And we took advantage of all of it.

We shot in all four sides of that island And, of course, I got to surf. And I did surf— Every time I was off, I found myself surfing one side or the other of that island. So, yes, we had five weeks there, and I felt like I really knew it by the end of it.

Why Another Sequel Now?

It’s been a while since the last movie in 2001. Why the decision to make the third one at this point?

GREGORY HARRISON: You know, I think that’s a very good question, and I was more wondering why it hadn’t been made earlier because the first two were so successful. But I learned long ago as an actor not to question the higher authorities. They have their own agenda and their own rationale.

But I’ll tell you, two or three years after Au Pair 2, I thought okay, that’s it, Au Pair 3 will not be happening. So, I was very surprised when six years after Au Pair 2, we got the call. But I was pleased, and I know the whole cast, that’s why we’re all back, because everybody was thrilled and looked forward to the chance to have a reunion and make another one.

Besides the fans of the previous movies, what kind of new viewers would you expect for Au Pair 3?

GREGORY HARRISON: You know, maybe a new generation of the same kind of viewers. I think it’s people who want— You know, it’s families who want to watch television that appeals to the youth but also appeals to the adults on some levels. And that’s what the first two did. Now, in 2009, I think there’s a whole lot of new kids around who weren’t even old enough to watch the movies in 2001 and 2003, and so they’ll be watching it. So, hopefully they’ll just be adding in to the overall audience.

Au Pair 4?

Are there any plans in the works for a fourth movie?

GREGORY HARRISON: Not to my knowledge. But then again, like I say, I don’t always know what they’re up to on the … up in the suits. The people who wear the suits, they make those choices. So, I don’t always know. I guess we’ll probably see how this one does and then that decision will be made later.

The Acting Bug

What got you started in acting in the first place?

GREGORY HARRISON: You know, I grew up on Catalina Island, and it was used as a kind of poor man’s Hawaii in show business. People would go there to shoot scenes that were supposedly in Hawaii or Tahiti or the Mediterranean. And I watched movies being shot there as I was a child. And my father, who ran the Glass Bottom Boat, was often hired to take casts and crews out to the various bays and coves of the island and drop them off in the morning and pick them up in the evening. So, I met a lot of actors, and I watched a lot of movies being filmed, and I just went, “This is not magic. This is a craft. This is a job. I can do this job.”

And I loved movies. I loved going to movies, and I loved the magic that was being created on a screen. But when I saw that it was just like a complicated puzzle, I thought okay, I can do that. And I was lucky. At 15 years old, I knew what I wanted to be and never wavered from it. I didn’t work until I was about 26, but I studied for many years and prepared myself. I always knew that that’s what I would be, so that’s what happened. That’s how I became an actor.

Coming Soon…

Do you have any new projects coming up besides Au Pair 3?

GREGORY HARRISON: Yes. I’m filming a movie right now, a TV movie, actually. It’s a miniseries called Maneater for Lifetime. And it’s a four-hour miniseries, and it stars Sarah Chalke, who’s the beautiful young blonde actress in Scrubs. And it’s a comedy, and she’s wonderful in it. Maria Conchita Alonso and I play her parents, and there’s a terrific big cast, and it’s going to be terrific. It comes out May 30th and 31st on Lifetime.

And I have a couple of feature films I’ve done that are in the can. I think Love ‘N Dancing is coming out with Billy Zane and Amy Smart next month [or] in May. And then I just shot another feature called Give ‘em Hell, Malone with Ving Rhames and Thomas Jane. And the release date is yet to be announced on that.

It’s hard to believe the last fresh episode of Supernatural aired on February 5, just a little over a month ago, since it feels like the hiatus has been at least three times that long. Thankfully, the series returns tomorrow with “Death Takes a Holiday,” and now all will be right on Thursday nights for me again.

The latest paranormal adventures of the Winchester brothers will find them venturing to a tiny town where the local folks have a nasty habit of cheating death. You’d think somebody or something would be in charge of preventing naughty stuff like that, and you would be 110 percent correct.

Dean and Sam eventually learn that a supernatural dude name Alastair — it’s always the Alastairs, isn’t it? — has been hunting down Reapers, not because he’s especially fond of death-cheating humans, but because he wants to break another one of those all-important seals wide open. Death may take a holiday, but evil certainly doesn’t.

The big guest star of the episode is Christopher Heyerdahl, whom genre fans will have no trouble recognizing as the actor who plays both John Druitt and Bigfoot on Sci Fi Channel’s Sanctuary and Todd the improbable Wraith on Stargate Atlantis before it. Also reprising her role as blinded psychic and Winchester ally Pamela Barnes is two-time former guest star Traci Dinwiddie.

“Death Takes a Holiday” should be a great “We’re back, fans!” episode, so check out a preview below to get all warm and fuzzy in anticipation of its premiere. The sneak peek features Dean and Pamela having an appropriately freaky experience with regards to Sam.

I just finished checking out the pilot episode of ABC’s new romantic crime dramedy Castle, and it sure is good to have lead Nathan Fillion back.

Despite some of the criticism I’ve come across — the writing is bad, Fillion’s female co-star Stana Katic is bad, the preliminary ratings are bad, the current state of television is bad — it gives me great pleasure to report that I found the entire episode, “Flowers for Your Grave,” to be a whole lot of fun. Meaningless, lightweight fun, but fun all the same.

The premise of the series is simple: wildly popular, best-selling crime novelist Richard Castle (Fillion) gets just the opportunity he needs to overcome his increasing boredom and writer’s block when an apparent serial killer begins leaving a trail of dead bodies around New York City that mimic the deaths in his more obscure novels.

Thanks to NYPD Detective Kate Beckett’s (Katic) penchant for reading mystery books, she immediately recognizes the pattern upon the discovery of the second body, which belongs to a 24-year-old social worker. We quickly learn the woman not only just happens to be the lone daughter of a prominent dying businessman worth millions of dollars, but also that she spurned that wealth in favor of a life helping others.

Sensing a little adventure and following his clearly evident ladies’-man instincts, Castle infiltrates Beckett’s investigation after she questions him about his relationships with the two victims identified thus far (a third murder occurs later). He doesn’t know either of them, but his insight as a crime writer allows him to provide substantial assistance to the detective and her team, whether she likes it or not. And, of course, she doesn’t like it, especially his constant flirting.

It ultimately turns out that two of the deaths were committed to throw the cops off and keep them from figuring out the murderer’s true motive and identity: the social worker’s only brother is in huge debt, and he wanted her share of the inheritance following their terminally ill father’s death to pay it.

Getting back at daddy by killing his favored child while he’s still alive was just icing on the evil cake. To get away with murdering his sibling, the brother sets up one of her mentally unstable patients to take the fall after discovering his obsession with Castle.

What Works for Me: Nathan Fillion, whose performance indicates a natural comedic talent, even if he doesn’t look quite like romantic leading-man material.

What Doesn’t Work for Me: The lack of character development for secondary characters, particularly Katic’s Detective Beckett, who should be on equal footing with Castle. However, there’s nothing to indicate that the series won’t be able to color the other players in a bit as the ten-episode first season continues, which is why I plan to watch for a few more weeks before deciding if Castle is worth my time or not. As of now, though, the show seems pretty good.

Overnight Ratings: 11.6 million viewers total and a 3.3 rating and 9 share for the 18–49 demographic. That’s respectable, in my opinion, but definitely a steep decline from the 22.5 million viewers and 6 rating/15 share earned by Castle‘s two-hour lead-in Dancing with the Stars.

ABC has a new romantic crime dramedy called Castle debuting tonight in the cushy post-Dancing with the Stars time slot, and it stars fan favorite and familiar Firefly, Desperate Housewives, and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog actor Nathan Fillion.

Fillion plays bored best-selling mystery author Richard Castle, who gets the shock of a lifetime, as well as a prime opportunity to spice up his life, when he learns a copycat serial killer is reenacting murders from his novels in the real world. Now that’s a genuine shocker.

The predicament quickly becomes a glass half-full type of situation for Castle, however, when he decides to infiltrate the police investigation headed by intelligent and capable NYPD Detective Kate Beckett, played by Fillion’s fellow Canadian Stana Katic. If you’re a Heroes fan and have a very good memory, you might remember her as Israeli soldier and human electronic messenger Hana Gitelman from Season One and the show’s graphic novels.

Castle is getting quite a few comparisons to the 1980s series Moonlighting, which starred Cybill Shepherd as former model Madelyn “Maddie” Hayes and Bruce Willis as private investigator David Addison Jr., colleagues who clashed constantly and often flirted with romantic involvement as they ran a detective agency together. If Fillion and Katic can recapture enough of that earlier TV magic, Castle just might have some staying power. Currently, the first season will run for just ten episodes total, an average number for a midseason replacement.

Catch the series premiere of Castle tonight on ABC at 10:02pm EST, immediately after the two-hour 8th-season premiere of reality hit Dancing with the Stars. A sneak peek follows that includes the first 13 minutes of the show’s debut episode, “Flowers for Your Grave.” I haven’t seen the entire installment, so I have no idea how it unfolds. But, the footage below definitely has a nice visual style, always a plus to me.

I know it’s not up everybody’s alley, but for those who enjoyed the first season of AMC’s original drug dramedy Breaking Bad, the series’ Season Two premiere on Sunday, March 8, is definitely the highlight of the weekend.

Still starring is sizzling Malcolm in the Middle alum Bryan Cranston — a 2008 Best Actor Emmy winner for the show — whom I never would have guessed would be so perfect as a distraught middle-aged drug dealer in the making. But perfect he is, and I know I’m not alone in my excitement to once again observe the adventures of his industrious high school chemistry teacher Walter White.

To prepare fans, both new and old, for the sophomore run, AMC is presenting a Friday-night/Saturday-morning marathon of all seven Season One episodes in proper broadcast order. It begins at 8pm EST tonight and continues until 3am tomorrow morning.

Then following on Sunday at 10pm is the second-season premiere “Seven Thirty-Seven.” Check out the sneak peek below to get a little taste of what awaits viewers during the upcoming 13-episode season. The clip features Cranston chatting with his “drug buddy” Jesse Pinkman, played by Big Love‘s Aaron Paul. Looks like more good stuff to me.

Heads-Up: If you’re a fan of USA Network’s ultra entertaining spy saga Burn Notice, there are a lot of answers waiting for you tonight on the second-season finale “Lesser Evil“, although maybe not so much closure. The last is entirely a good thing, though, because that means more to look forward to in Season Three.

If I had to sum up the episode quickly in a few phrases, the typical genre clichés high octane, high energy, and high drama all come immediately to mind. Besides a car chase that lasts so long it’s split into two car chases — just to give viewers a chance to breathe, I suspect — there are numerous explosions, a truckload of bullets, and plenty of deception and maneuvering to spare.

In the process, some characters get what they want, get what they deserve, and even get what they weren’t expecting. Surprising secrets are learned, startling alliances are formed, and Michael finally meets the person who burned him … face to face, yet another occasion when the word “high” applies (that will make sense when you watch).

We also get more than one scene worthy of the Matt Damon Bourne franchise, as well as a new major character played by a very familiar and welcome industry standout. After watching the episode, all I could think was “Thank goodness the third season kicks off this summer instead of the fall or next year.” I honestly don’t believe I could wait that long to find out what happens to Team Michael next.

Catch Burn Notice‘s thoroughly satisfying second-season finale “Lesser Evil” on USA Network at 10pm EST tonight. You’ll be very, very happy you did.

The second-season finale of USA Network’s Burn Notice debuts tonight at 10pm EST, and this is one episode that doesn’t disappoint. As star Jeffrey Donovan, known to Burn fans as super-skilled spook Michael Westen, revealed during a recent interview, “Lesser Evil” will deliver big time when it comes to the answers viewers have been wanting all season long.

What happens to Tricia Helfer‘s mysterious handler Carla? Will fellow burned spy Victor survive Michael’s wrath after being held captive following that bathroom beat down at the end of the last episode, “Sins of Omission”? Most of all, however, will we finally learn who the heck burned Michael in the first place and perhaps even why?

Some of the answers may surprise you when Lesser Evil premieres tonight — I know they shocked me while previewing the episode — but you can learn one just by reading the following Q&A.

In addition to revealing whether or not the “Who burned Michael?” question gets put to rest at last, Donovan gives fans lots of other reasons to be very happy about the series, which he says currently has no set end date since he just closed the deal on a contract for a sum of eight seasons. Of course, there’s no guarantee Burn Notice will hang around that long, but it sure is great knowing the show could.

Carla, Carla, Carla!

Tricia Helfer is not going to be back for next season, so could you tell us a little bit about her final appearances and what kind of closure we maybe can expect?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: Well, you know, I think it’s no surprise that Carla and Michael were going to eventually be in each other’s crosshairs. And in the final episode literally that happens. Without giving too much away, the eventual outcome was necessary. What’s going to happen is that she gets basically— She has powers above her that control her, and she basically relies on Michael to save her butt at the end. And he tries, but it doesn’t go as well as expected for her.

With Tricia Helfer leaving are there any guest stars for next season that you know of?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: Not yet because we haven’t started shooting yet. You know, there’s some people on our radar that would love to get on the show. And then there are actually people who have called and said they want to be on the show. So, we’re actually right now, I think, negotiating with a big TV actress to start recurring on the show. I can’t just say because it’s not closed, but if it happens I’ll be really excited.

Michael and Fiona — Together Forever?

What’s going to happen next season with Fiona [Gabrielle Anwar] and Michael? Where are they going in their relationship?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: We have great chemistry. And we love exploring the kind of push-pull attraction that we have for one another. But I think that, you know, Season Three you’ll probably see more of Michael and Fiona trying not to be together; really, really just trying to find out maybe there’s someone else.

Maybe there’s someone else out there that we can fall for and can give us the love that the other person can’t, you know. I think that because the more in Two and Three we get, the more you’re going to see people from Michael and Fiona’s past come back into their lives.

Bromance in the Air

What makes the bromance with Sam [Bruce Campbell] so special?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: You know, I haven’t figured it out and I don’t want to. It’s just so easy and so fun and— But I’d say 90 percent of it is just Bruce. He’s such a good spirit. He has great comic timing and he truly loves being on the show and it shows. So, when we’re together it’s us, you know — Jeff and Sam just having fun with the writer’s work, you know. And as long as we keep going with that then the bromance will be healthy.

Mama Mia!

I love your scenes with Sharon Gless [Madeline Westen] because there’s a lot of emotion plus comedy in them. Could you talk about working with her and dealing with the smoke?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: Man, she’s such a pro. She’s such a pro. I call her mama and I mean that in such an affectionate way. She’s so motherly to me, so caring and endearing and talented and God, man— You walk on set, she starts rehearsing with you, and you’re like you’re in the scene. You are just in the scene.

She’s your mom, you’re her son, and the comedy that comes out of it, she knows what she’s doing, man, and she makes it look like she doesn’t. It’s pretty remarkable to watch.

The smoking— The smoking is tough. She really smokes real tobacco. And it’s kind of hard to deal with, knowing that every time I’m in a scene with her is smoking. But that is what Michael goes through; he can’t stand it either.

Family Matters

Where does Michael Westen’s willingness to help the little person come from?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: You know, there’s an interesting theme between Madeline and Michael that was on last week ["Sins of Omission"] where she describes the map of how to fix the car’s radio and how it’s tied to the ignition. It was really well written. And she says, you know, I think [Michael's father] did this so that he would always feel needed and wanted and useful and we would want him around.

And I think that Michael went away from his family because he didn’t feel wanted or needed. And so he went with a bigger family, you know. He went for the flag, and the country needed him. And so I think that when he’s back in town, when he helps a little guy, it’s less about the little guy and it’s more about that Michael is somehow validating that need, that someone needs him. And he never got it as, you know, not to be too psychological, but he never got it as a child.

Keeping It Real

One of my favorite elements of the show is Michael’s narration because inside his head is a very interesting place to be. How much work goes into creating those?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: They’re very important. I think that they’re the heart of the show because what’s great about Burn Notice, especially with Michael, is that Michael never lets on how he feels about something except when he’s with his family. So, 90 percent of the time of his job is he’s covering.

And what’s great about playing that role that way is I don’t have to show anything that I actually feel or think because I know that in the back of my mind that narration is going to let you know. And I think that’s kind of a cool device that we take really seriously that we get to say, “Hey, here’s a secret — this is what I’m thinking.” And it’s a little conspiratorial with the audience, and I think it’s a great element.

Is it important to you that you don’t cut corners on the show? And are those moments fun when you’re building your gadgets?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: Yeah, it’s really important that not only do I build my own gadgets that I do my own fights. They don’t let me do my own stunts for insurance reasons, but it’s really important that I keep it authentic. And one of the things that I take pride is in that even though we shoot 16 episodes and it takes six months, I actually train in the off season — I call it my off season, like an athlete — to get ready for those 16.

So, I’m doing workouts in the weight room three days a week, and then I’m doing mixed martial arts those other three days, and on Sunday I rest. And it’s really important that when I do something it looks like I can actually do it.

Favorite MacGyver Moment

MacGyver has nothing on Michael Westen as far as the spy gadgets go. What are some of your favorite spy gadgets to date that you’ve actually gotten to play with on the show?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: You know, I thought one of the coolest things was the episode where I built an x-ray machine in my trunk. I thought that was [impossible], and what I found out from our consultant is he actually did it.

Well our consultant is an ex-spy, and he gave us the idea that you can put a Taser through an old TV tube that still has a radioactive— Not radioactive; I don’t even know what it is. But a radio wave that you can ignite, which would create an x-ray with a lead plate behind it. I couldn’t believe it and it did it. But that was one of my favorites.

The Secret of Burn Notice‘s Success

You’re headed to Season Three, you’ve renegotiated your contract. Did you ever expect that Burn Notice was going to become the success it has?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: You know, I don’t think anyone goes into projects thinking they’ll fail. I think we all believe that what we’re doing is going to be good. But more specifically with me and that mix, we sat down and very pointedly said to each other we’re going to make a TV show that we would watch, that we would be interested in, not the networks, not the fans, not anybody, just us. What would we want to do because we have to do this for seven years. And that was the pilot.

And that it was received so well critically and that the fans, you know, started [at] a couple million and have grown to over five million is just— It’s just icing on the cake of what we started with at the beginning, which was pursue something you believe in with your entire heart in your craft and want to do that and only that and don’t feel [you have to] water it down. Make what you want and see if it sticks. And USA was so gracious to give us that room and let it grow, and it’s been growing ever since.

What is it about the show you think enables it to transcend being a wonderful personal project to having such great appeal to a wider audience?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: You know what, and this is going to sound vague, because the groups that watch it watch it for different reasons. I meet kids, I meet teenagers who run up to me and go we love your show. And I say, well, why do you like it? And they’re like oh man those cool gadgets.

And then I’ll meet some, like, 40-year-old guy who’s like man you and Fi, God, that reminds me of my marriage. And I’ll meet like, you know, old ladies who are like you and your mom are so sweet together. So, I think that there’s just these really specific elements that are really identifiable to a lot of people. I don’t know if there’s just one thing.

Oh, Yeah — What About the Burner?

It seems like we’re getting perhaps a little bit closer to finding out who burned Michael. How much more in depth do you imagine this is going to be? How many more layers might we expect before he maybe comes close to an answer?

JEFFREY DONOVAN: I think that the actual person who burned me, you’re actually going to meet in the season finale. And he’s going to have answers that only will satisfy people halfway.

Dealing anytime with any kind of covert organization, they can’t ever spill the beans totally. But what you’re going to see in the finale is pretty exciting because, though Michael does find out who burns him, it doesn’t release him from the perils of his career choice. And that’s what Season Three is going to really focus on — who in his past is a threat to his livelihood. And that’s what basically you’re going to find out in Season Three.