burnnotice

USA Network has announced the premiere dates for two of its most popular series.

According to the Live Feed, 'Burn Notice' season 4 and 'Royal Pains' season 2 will premiere on Thu., June 3, at 9 and 10PM, respectively.

Meanwhile, the network will also premiere 'White Collar,' 'Psych' and 'Covert Affairs,' starring Piper Perabo, in July.

How did USA become basic cable's most popular channel? They found a formula that works, and they stuck with it.

This week sees the season premieres of USA's 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' (Tuesday's debut, introducing a new detective played by Saffron Burrows, marks the beginning of season 9) and 'In Plain Sight' (starting its third season on Wednesday). Both series feature USA doing what it does best: offering quirky crimefighters who nail bad guys even as their own lives are falling apart.

'Brotherhood's' Jason Clarke will star in Shawn Ryan's ('The Shield') new cop drama 'Ride-Along.' He'll play larger-than-life Detective Jarek Wysocki in the Chicago-based series, about a man who tries to clean up the city's violence and corruption. 'Ride-Along' will air on Fox, with a premiere date to be determined. [Hollywood Reporter]

More casting news after the jump.

Sendhil Ramamurthy has joined the cast of USA's 'Covert Affairs' opposite Piper Perabo. The 'Heroes' co-star will play a CIA agent in the series, about an inexperienced CIA field operative (Perabo) whose ex-boyfriend is of special interest to her boss. Ramamurthy was previously attached to NBC's 'Rex Is Not Your Lawyer.' [Hollywood Reporter]

More casting news after the jump.

"If Michael wanted to kill you, you'd be dead." Right on, sister. If we ever land in the slammer for any reason, we want Madeline Westen as our wing man, er, mother. Because we know she'll stand by us through thick and thin, talk back to the cops, and even slap one if necessary.

Madeline may have no idea what her son is up to on 'Burn Notice' (Thu., 10PM ET on USA), but she's ready to take the fall for him. Or send the cops on a wild goose chase to the Sawgrass Mills Mall. That works, too.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S03E16) If you wonder where the excitement is in entertainment, you're probably not watching 'Burn Notice.' However, if you're reading this review, you probably are a watcher and you have just gorged yourself on what was mostly called a season finale.

In some ways, it was a typical 'Burn Notice' finale, leaving Michael in a seemingly puzzling situation. This was ranked up there with one of the more intriguing ones. It was everything creator Matt Nix promised it would be. More on that, the client named Simon, and how to hot-wire a jet ski after the jump.

Now that Olympic fever has subsided, it's time to look ahead to a March filled with many returning favorites, including ABC's 'Dancing with the Stars,' NBC's 'The Apprentice,' and Comedy Central's bad boys of 'South Park.' The month also offers both 'The 82nd Annual Academy Awards' on ABC and NCAA Basketball's "March Madness" on CBS.

March kicks off with one of the most controversial premieres of the year. After a dismal performance in primetime, Jay Leno returns to 'The Tonight Show' (Mon., March 1 at 11:35PM on NBC) desk he temporarily vacated for Conan O'Brien. Make sure you don't miss a moment of the biggest premieres and finales in March.

Check out our full list of highlights after the jump.

(S03E15) Every now and then, it's fun to watch what happens when Michael or Sam or Fiona don't have the upper hand in a situation. This penultimate episode of the season was one of those with lots of flying by the seat of their pants and taking a walk on the wild side ... whether they wanted to or not.

Oh, snap. On 'Burn Notice' (Thu., 10PM ET on USA), Michael learns that the person he helped to free is actually coming for him. Some gratitude!

And you can pretty much count on a bomb to turn up whenever he's around. It's just a matter of whether it's strapped to a guy he's sitting in a car with, or somewhere equally explosive.

Watch the video after the jump.

Matt Nix is the man who single-handedly entered the term "burn notice" into the American pop culture lexicon. In a recent conference call about the current season of 'Burn Notice' and Michael Weston's spy games, Matt Nix reflected on the past, gave us a glimpse into the exciting last few episodes this season, and assured us all that despite the torrid chemistry, Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless are not going to hook up as Sam and Maddie. Michael and Fiona, on the other hand, that's still a flame that's burning... if you don't mind the pun.

Q: What can you tell us about upcoming guest stars that you have lined up?

Matt Nix: In the finale, we have Garret Dillahunt coming and doing a pretty amazing bad guy. Let's see, the guy who played Tony Almeida on '24' Carlos Bernard, is playing a bad guy who... under other circumstances he could have been one of the team, but he is willing to do certain things that they're not willing to do. He's a guy who's really committed to what he's doing. It's a pretty devastating performance. He's pretty awesome.

'Burn Notice' (10PM, USA)
'24' fans, now we know what happened to Tony Almeida ... he's in Miami, mixing it up with burned spy guy Michael, and, more specifically, Michael's girlfriend Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar). Actually, it's Tony's portrayer, Carlos Bernard, who's guest starring on tonight's 'Burn Notice,' where he plays Gabriel, a charming guy who goes to Fi for help with a kidnapping plot. Don't worry ... he's not a straight up bad guy; he's complicated, just like a certain pal of Jack Bauer's. Speaking of Tony Almeida, we're still holding out hope that he'll pop up on '24' this season. Jack, and our beloved Fox drama, could use an injection of Tony's intensity.

(S03E14) There was a lot of action involving running and shooting and a bomb exploding in this installment of 'Burn Notice,' but overall it felt a bit like a been-there-done-that episode. Was it pedestrian or were the principals not interesting enough to keep up with the usual Michael-Fiona-Sam shenanigans? More on that and the excellent work by a lowly CSI tech named Finley, after the jump.

(S03E13) 'Burn Notice' is generally more serious dealing with spy business than a show like 'Chuck', which is more playful. There's more blood on 'Burn Notice,' and the killing is not done to popular music. Both shows are fun, but for a tougher brand of espionage, 'Burn Notice' is the way to go.

This was one of the better 'Burn Notice' episodes because it put Michael somewhere he hasn't been in a while -- a very vulnerable position. And Larry was back. You remember Larry, played with menacing lunacy by Tim Matheson? More on Larry, the Colombian cartel, Jack Fleetwood and -- oh yeah -- Michael's brother, too, after the jump.

(S03E12) Does Michael Weston work and play well with others? Umm, not really. He prefers being at the controls and calling the shots. Have you noticed that with Fiona and Sam, Michael is usually the de facto lead? And remember how he disliked working for Carla? Hence this relationship with Gilroy is problematic to say the least. This week was an example of just how difficult it's likely to be.

(S03E11) For a nice change of pace, Burn Notice played up the local color. Lots of Little Dominica (not Little Havana) and action, including multiple explosions, a little face-forward repelling and a new somewhat mystical character for Michael to play. No Southern boy this week. No tank tops or muscle shirts. Nope. Michael was looking like Mr. Applegate, the devil in the musical Damn Yankees.