We recently had the opportunity to sit down with the cast of USA’s hit show about a police consultant with an uncanny ability to pick up clues, almost psychically, some would say.  Read below to hear what the cast had to say about next week’s vamp-themed episode, “This Episode Sucks” (pun intended), and the arrival of a former Starfleet Captain to beautiful Santa Barbara.

The Flickcast: What’s been your favorite episode to shoot for Season 6?

James Roday (Shawn Spencer): Probably our vampire episode [was my favorite to shoot this season], because it’s chock full of vampire fun for vampire fans but it’s also a love story for Lassiter’s character which is something we’ve never seen before. Any time we do something new, I get excited.

Steve Franks, creator: I really, really love the vampire episode. James directed it and put such a tremendous bit of magic on top of it, in such unexpected ways.  Yes, it’s vampires and it’s a little gory and it’s a little scary, but it also has such tremendous sweetness and heart.  It’s one of our nicest episodes and yet one of our darkest episodes at the same time.  So that one’s really fun.

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I don’t think it’s much of a secret that TV is a tough business. For every one hit series there’s whole bunch of them that get killed after only a few episodes. Heck, there’s even some that are cancelled before they get on the air at all.

But no matter what, it all costs money. A lot of it.

Taking that into consideration, you can understand why networks seem to be doing more, cheaper, unscripted reality shows and fewer, more expensive, one hour scripted dramatic shows. It’s simple math.

However, one network at least (besides AMC) is bucking the trend and going for a lot more dramatic, scripted series. That network is USA, which has a Summer schedule filled with 8 hour dramas and comedies and only one reality series.

New series include Suits and Necessary Roughness and returning shows White Collar, Covert Affairs, Royal Pains, Burn Notice, In Plain Sight and the the final season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

The network will use its biggest shows, Burn Notice and Royal Pains, to launch its new series, Suits and Necessary Roughness. Additionally, the network’s first reality series in 5 years, WWE Tough Enough, will continue to air on Monday, bringing the total of USA’s original summer series to 9.

Click through for USA’s Summer schedule with premiere dates (courtesy of the fine folks at Deadline):

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Back in the old days of the “Big Three” TV networks we got new shows in the Fall, watched them until just after the new year and then had reruns all Summer until the new Fall season came around again. Now that we have so many other networks and programs to enjoy we pretty much get new shows all year.

Case in point is USA networks Winter season. Today they announced what shows would be starting or returning for the Winter and more importantly, when and what time they would be back. Here’s the scoop:

USA’s newest series Fairly Legal will premiere on Thursday, Jan. 20, at 10 PM. It will follow the Winter season debut of Royal Pains, which will serve as its lead-in.

Original episodes of White Collar will run Tuesdays at 10 PM beginning January 18. In case you were wondering, Fairly Legal stars the very attractive and talented Sarah Shahi (formerly of the gone to early Life) as a lawyer turned mediator. That alone should merit at least watching the pilot. For the rest, we’ll see USA we’ll see.

Just this weekend, Saturday Night Live returned with its 36th season to a 15 percent ratings bump from last season’s premiere. Amy Pohler and Katy Perry were the guests, along with a whole slew of former cast members dropping by throughout the show.

The premiere had its funny moments. But one of the main things the episode also accomplished was to make the audience look back and fondly remember the classic episodes of the series over its rich 35 year lifespan. Fortunetely, we don’t have to scrounge YouTube or Hulu for old episodes as Netflix and NBC have signed a deal to get every episode of SNL available on Netflix’s streaming service.

But that’s not all as according to the press releasing announcing the deal, along with SNL, we’ll also be treated to tons of other NBC Universal properties coming to the service.

Episodes from every season of NBC’s signature comedy franchise “Saturday Night Live,” including day-after broadcast of the upcoming 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons plus hundreds of episodes from the first 35 years of “SNL.”

Every episode from the last season of the multiple Emmy® Award-winning series “30 Rock,” “The Office” and “Law & Order: SVU,” as well as earlier seasons of those shows renewed for streaming from Netflix under the current deal.

All prior seasons – and eventually next year’s final season – of “Friday Night Lights,” the small-town drama surrounding high-school football in Dillon, Tex.

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USA’s Burn Notice has been sizzling the small screen all summer long, so The Flickcast braved the waves of fans at the San Diego Comic-Con to talk with its covert operatives.  We were right alongside geek god Bruce Campbell and the sprightly Tim Matheson to discuss living in the scorching heat of Miami. Although one plays the angel and the other the devil on Michael Weston’s shoulder, they have one thing in common: they both enjoy a cool Mojito at the end of a long shoot day.

With their plethora of credits both on and off screen, they are the quintessential “Jack of All Trades.” Campbell, of course, has been acting, directing, producing, and hamming it up in many a geeky film like Evil Dead. Matheson is no stranger to being behind the camera and directing an episode or two of many a USA show including White Collar, Psych, Covert Affairs, and of course his own killer schemes in Burn Notice. I guess being dead frees up your spare time. But, sorrow no more as it’s confirmed Larry Sizemore was (gasp) not really dead and will be returning next season.

Following the jump hear what these two spies have to say about surviving and thriving in the world of Jason Bourne meets Miami Vice and maybe even learn a thing or two.

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Big news out of the Burn Notice panel, as the ever charismatic Bruce Campbell revealed he is set to star in a prequel story to the hit USA TV show Burn Notice. The prequel will follow the exploits of Campbell’s character Sam Axe on a mission in Latin America. The prequel will give some background into the sarcastic spy’s life before he became tied up in the events of the TV show.

The Burn Notice prequel will be co-produced by USA and Fox TV Studios.  Most of the filming will take place on location in Latin America and will be scheduled between the filming of seasons 4 and 5 of Burn Notice. It will be a one shot movie rather than a spin-off TV show.

When asked about the planned prequel star Bruce Campbell respond with his typical humor: “What do I have to say about that? I have to say that USA finally got their s#!t together.”

I for one can’t argue with that. With the explosive response from the audience in the panel one can only assume that other spin-offs can’t be far behind –  especially if this one is a success.  Are there any TV shows that you are currently watching that you would like to see a character spin-off of?

For more San Diego Comic-Con coverage, keep it here at The Flickcast.

So, it begins. The powers that be in control of San Diego Comic-Con have announced the Thursday schedule. We were going to wait and put all of these schedules together but Thursday is such a full day you might need more time to digest it.

Some of the highlights we are looking forward to include the Tron Legacy panel, a City of Heroes panel, Summit Entertainment’s RED panel, several USA show panels including Burn Notice and White Collar, Caprica, Battlestar and Beyond, the Mondo Marvel panel, the EW Visionaries panel with J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon and a panel about The Expendables. There’s also a ton of other stuff with conflicting times that’s sure to drive any fans of movies, tv, comics, games and geek crazy trying to work it all out.

Be sure to check back at The Flickcast for all of our coming Comic-Con coverage. We will be there in force to bring you all the sights, sounds, events, news and smells from Sand Diego. Now to go get in line at Hall H for the J.J. Abrams/Joss Whedon panel.

See you in San Diego! Click through for the complete Thursday schedule as of today.

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During The Flickcast’s set visit to USA Network’s new series Covert Affairs we spoke with Executive Producer Doug Liman about the origins of the show.  Following that we had the opportunity to speak with three of the show’s regulars, Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty, Harper’s Island), Anne Dudek (House, Mad Men) and Piper Perabo (The Prestige, Coyote Ugly).  All the interviews took place on the Covert Affairs sets in Toronto, Canada.

One thing every good television show needs is a lead character that can be relatable to viewers yet embrace the hyper-real world of fiction.  Piper Perabo, as Annie Walker, on Covert Affairs blends these two elements seamlessly.  While thoroughly convincing as a rookie CIA Officer she’s equally well-rounded as a down-to-Earth friend to Christopher Gorham’s Auggie and sister to Anne Dudek’s Danielle.  In short, Perabo effortlessly draws the audience into her world of intrigue, action and drama on Covert Affairs.

As easy as Perabo makes her performance on the series look there is a significant amount of reality behind the character of Annie Walker.  While the scripts themselves carry with them a healthy dose of real world exposition, Perabo was fortunate enough to actually do her own research for the role at the Central Intelligence Agency itself in Langley, Virginia.

Interestingly enough, it was the day-to-day details of the people that worked for the CIA that became more relevant than work specifics as Perabo explained:

“…I went and I met agents who are my age who work in the field, women, and got to talk to them.  Not just about—the funny thing is the things that they can’t talk about aren’t really the things that I, you know, I don’t need to know where your stationed or what you’re doing.  But my questions were more like, ‘What kind of car do you drive?  Does your boyfriend know what you do? Do your parents?’

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During The Flickcast’s set visit to USA Network’s new series Covert Affairs we spoke with Executive Producer Doug Liman about the origins of the show. Following that we had the opportunity to speak with three of the show’s regulars, Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty, Harper’s Island), Anne Dudek (House, Mad Men) and Piper Perabo (The Prestige, Coyote Ugly).  All the interviews took place on the Covert Affairs sets in Toronto, Canada.

Playing to the extreme opposite of Christopher Gorham’s CIA Officer, Auggie Anderson, is Anne Dudek as Danielle.  Older sister to Piper Perabo’s lead character of Annie Walker, Dudek balances the intense CIA action with a life in which the biggest challenge is getting her kids to school on time.

Don’t let the pedestrian existence of domestic bliss fool you, Dudek explains the critical part she plays in the world of Covert Affairs:

“I mean you know the sisterly relationship that, it’s a little more than that because Danielle sort of feels motherly in a way that’s a little inappropriate towards Annie.

But then also, Annie really needs Danielle and they really do need each other.  And so I think it’s sort of like well, there’s this huge lie in the middle of this really vital relationship.

And what would happen if that really came out?  But everything Danielle knows about her sister is like a complete lie and that’s what’s being built is this web of lies.  And so it is a support system that if it breaks down, I mean, it’s going to be really, really bad news.”

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During The Flickcast’s set visit to USA Network’s new series Covert Affairs we spoke with Exec. Producer Doug Liman about the origins of the show.  Following that we had the opportunity to speak with three of the show’s regulars, Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty, Harper’s Island), Anne Dudek (House, Mad Men) and Piper Perabo (The Prestige, Coyote Ugly).  All the interviews took place on the Covert Affairs sets in Toronto, Canada.

Christopher Gorham plays Auggie Anderson on Covert Affairs.  The resident technology expert, the role lends itself to being the bridge between the audience and how the tech on the show works.  Based on this, one would think Gorham was a natural geek, but according to him that’s not the case:

The Flickcast: Being surrounded by that, being that kind of character on the show, how well versed are you in technology?  Like, are you anywhere near what Auggie is, or are you-

Chris Gorham: Nowhere-first of all, nowhere near.

TF: No?

CG: Second of all, nowhere near what I wish I knew.  Thirdly, nowhere near where I need to be, because my kids are getting older quick.

One would think getting your head around hi-tech gadgets would be a challenge but that pales in comparison to one important element of Gorham’s character-the fact that he’s blind.  In preparation for the role Gorham worked extensively with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB):

“I was working on a film in Michigan right before the pilot, and literally came straight here from there. So I hadn’t had any time at home to really do the research that I would normally do. So I called ahead and found the – well, I found the CNIB on the Internet, and called ahead to the production office and asked them if they could hook me up with somebody over there.

And they did – a lovely woman named Leslie McDonald who came out. And we had two sessions during the pilot, where the first one she came out and just went over things like sighted lead, and working with the cane, and a lot of just behavioural things about how to get around.”

Having seen a number of actors take on roles in which they portray blind characters I can tell you Gorham is exceptional.  Be that as it may, Gorham is quick to emphasise that while Auggie is blind that does not diminish him in contrast to other characters:

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Over the past 5 years or so, USA has churned out some pretty impressive new shows. Some we’ve expressed interest in previously, like Psych and Monk, and some that keep growing on us with every action-packed season, like Burn Notice.

We recently got the chance to sit in on a conversation with the series creator and show runner Matt Nix so he could finally answer some of the burning (no pun intended) questions that we’ve had about the series since the get-go. Matt also discussed the current season’s impressive upcoming episodes and guest stars.

The first episode of the fourth season aired last week on USA to record ratings. The episode pulled in 6.6 million viewers, which is nearly a fourth more than last season’s premier brought in.

Check out what Matt had to say about the show, its growing success, and things we can expect to see in this season of Burn Notice.

What can you tell us about this upcoming season and how it will effect Michael (Jeffrey Donovan)?

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Burn Notice is one of those shows that sorta sneaks up on you, much like its covert, ex-spy characters. At first, it seems like a pure action show where men are men and stuff blows up. But then, you go deeper and it turns out to be an intelligent, fun show that not only features action and explosions but actual characters and stories you care about a well.

Obviously, USA feels they’ve got something special too because they’ve given the show an additional two seasons. The news broke late yesterday via a USA’s exec’s Twitter account, which is where all the best news is coming out these days. Just in case you’re not familiar with the show, it concerns “burned” spy Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) who’s former employers drop him in Miami penniless and with no work resources after they decide he’s no longer useful.

Once there he teams up with friends Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) and Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar) to find out who burned him and also do a little PI work on the side. He also occasionally has to deal with his mother (Sharon Gless), who also happens to live in Miami too.

It’s a fun show with some great actors and is definitely worth a look if you’ve never watched it before. And now, with USA giving it two more seasons, you’ll have a chance to do just that.

Burn Notice returns Thursday, June 3 at 9/9C on USA.