At first glance, J.J. Abrams' new NBC show 'Undercovers' sounds somewhat like 'Alias' -- if Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn had gotten married.

But executive producer Josh Reims told TV critics Friday that 'Undercovers' won't be 'Alias: Five Years Later.'

"Don't tell J.J., but I never really watched 'Alias,'" Reims said. "Neither one of us wanted to do 'Alias' -- he'd already done it ... and I thought it was one of the most confusing shows ever."

So, don't expect any Rambaldi-esque mythology in 'Undercovers,' but there will be more glamor and globe-trotting -- and sexy, witty banter between leads Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who play married spies Steven and Samantha Bloom.

Reims, Kodjoe and Mbatha-Raw were joined by producer Carther MacIntyre and cast members Gerald McRaney, Ben Schwartz and Mekia Cox. See what they had to say about the show, after the jump ...

The TV critics had many questions about the decision to cast two black actors as the leads of the show. "When J.J. and I wrote the script originally, we decided we wanted to write it like 'The Philadelphia Story' -- [starring] Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn -- but they're dead so we didn't hire them," Reims joked. "We started out by saying, 'Let's see every possible incarnation of a person.

"We wanted to look different [and] when Boris and Gugu came in, which was later in the process, we knew immediately, 'This is them.' ... We didn't go out and say, 'OK, we're hiring two black actors to be the leads in the show.'"

When further pressed about whether the producers deliberately set out to shake up the television landscape, which doesn't feature many black leads, Reims said, "We weren't going to hire two black people because they're black people, [though] we're thrilled that we got to hire two black people ... We don't consider that we're revolutionizing TV, but at the same time we realize that it is a big deal and we're happy that we can do something that we wish wasn't such a big deal at this time."

He hoped that their example will lead more shows to diversify their casting choices, and noted that it seemed like it was already happening.

Kodjoe added, "I think it's important to recognize the fact that ... it's not the norm, although it should be the normal, because that's what the world looks like ... We get a chance to be trailblazers [but] on the other hand, let's inspire people to regard it as normal, so more and more people don't consider it taking a chance -- just being creative."

More highlights from the panel:

- Kodjoe is originally German and Mbatha-Raw hails from Oxford, England. Their biggest problem isn't the accent -- it's American colloquialisms. "There are certain sayings you guys have that make absolutely no sense," Kodjoe said. As an example, he told a story about how he was once asked, "What's up?" -- and he literally looked up at the sky.

- Reims worked on 'Felicity' and joked about how when that show's writers and 'Alias' writers passed each other in their office building's halls, "They would look confused and we would look angst ridden." He mentioned that Abrams had said, "If I go too far in the mythological craziness, just stop me."

- 'Undercovers' will feature a case of the week, which will wrap up by episode's end, but there will be arcs. Again, he reiterated that there will be "no overriding, crazy Rambaldi" storyline that lasts through the season.

- Star Gerald McRaney's character, Carlton Shaw, won't just be a one-note curmudgeonly handler. "There are some secrets to be revealed about Mr. Shaw and what his agenda is, and what the agency's agenda is regarding [the Blooms]," he said, then wryly added, "I'm not at liberty to discuss that."

- Though the writers considered making the Blooms divorced or separated, they ultimately decided not to go the "will they/won't they" route. "In this show, they can have a fight and you realize they're just a married couple who had a fight," Reims said. Mentioning the constant break-ups and make-ups on 'Felicity,' he continued, "It's actually more liberating and you can go further with characters."