After more than eight years writing feature scripts that may have sold but were rarely produced, Matt Nix learned this summer that it's true what they say about Hollywood: It takes 10 years to be an overnight success.
Nix's "Burn Notice," an action comedy about a blacklisted covert operations agent, starring Jeffrey Donovan, turned out to be one of the summer's top new original shows on basic cable. The audience grew by word of mouth, up to a respectable 4 million viewers, and USA Network renewed the series after just four episodes. The two-hour season finale airs at 9 Thursday night.
Often compared to '80s action comedies like "MacGyver" or "Magnum, P.I.," "Burn Notice" features smarty-pants dialogue and as much Miami street action as a basic cable network can afford. While the genre is familiar, "Burn Notice" has surprised viewers with a smart, savvy edge that seems fresh. Donovan, a master of the cheesy ingratiating smile, provides a first-person narrative in the wry voice of agent Michael Westen, who busies himself with vigilante justice while trying to find out who "burned" him at the CIA.
Not surprisingly, Westen sounds a lot like Nix, a boyish 36 with a nearly constant, one-sided smile. Fascinated by the details of spy techniques, Nix packed the voiceover with plenty of pithy lessons such as: "When you make somebody work for a piece of information, they'll believe it that much more because it's hard to get."
Westen also comments on his mother (Sharon Gless), "Asking my mom for anything is a lot like getting a favor from a Russian mob boss: They'll give you what you want with a smile, but believe me, you'll pay for it." There are also character-revealing asides about "an old friend who's informing on you to the FBI" (Bruce Campbell) and a "trigger-happy ex-girlfriend" (Gabrielle Anwar).
Recently, Nix took a break from working on the European version of the show, donned his "Burn Notice" cap, and walked, unrecognized, from the show's nondescript office in downtown Glendale to his favorite sushi restaurant down the street. He said he never intended to update '80s action comedy shows; rather, he backed into the genre through his attraction to spy technology and his trademark dark humor. "It's sort of hybrid vigor," he said.
After a grueling first season full of late nights and rewrites, Nix compared his television experience to being force-fed his favorite foods at gunpoint. "Every bite is delicious, but it's a staggering amount of work," he said.
