Reminder: Burn Notice Returns Tonight

The new season of Burn Notice kicks off tonight, June 23, at 9:00 on USA. As previously reported, Lauren Stamile joins the cast in the sixth episode as Michael's new CIA contact, Kim Pearce, described as a female Michael Westen.

Tradecraft: Brianna Brown Joins Homeland

Another actress has headed for Homeland. The Hollywood Reporter reports that former General Hospital regular Brianna Brown has joined the CIA drama from erstwhile 24 producers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa in a potential recurring role. According to the trade, the 31-year-old actress, who has also graced a number of Judd Apatow productions including Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, will play Lynne Reed, a statuesque former Miss Ohio "who spent two years in the harem of Prince Farid Bin Abbud and who now works as his procurer, using her looks and smarts as commerce." Claire Danes stars as a CIA agent who suspects that a recently returned American POW (Damian Lewis) has been turned by Al Qaeda and plans to perpetrate an attack on US soil. Mandy Patankin plays her Agency superior. Homeland airs this fall on Showtime. You can watch a trailer here.

Tradecraft: Noir is Go

Nikita will soon have company in the female assassin sweepstakes on TV. According to Deadline, the cable channel Starz has officially greenlit Noir, the live action remake of an anime amnesiac assassin series that we heard they were developing late last year. Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, the powerhouse producing duo behind such TV hits as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess and Spartacus: Blood and Sand (also on Starz), as well noble misses in the spy genre like Jack of All Trades (starring a pre-Burn Notice Bruce Campbell) and Spy Game, will mastermind the show along with executive producers Steven Lightfoot (who penned the pilot) and Joshua Donen (who has partnered with Raimi and Tapert on Spartacus and Legend of the Seeker). Robert Ludlum tapped some sort of hidden vein with his 1980 bestseller The Bourne Identity, and ever since assassins and amnesia have been forever linked in the public psyche. The well-regarded anime series focuses on two female assassins suffering from the condition who discover they're mysteriously linked together and team up to battle a powerful secret society.

The New Transporter Babe: Andrea Osvárt

In Deadline's original story a few weeks ago about Chris Vance being cast as the new Transporter for Cinemax's TV version of the Luc Besson-produced, Jason Statham-starring neo-Eurospy franchise, the trade blog also reported that Andrea Osvárt would be the new Transporter Babe. This seemed to merit its own headline here, since my 2008 post identifying Natalya Rudakova as "the new Transporter Babe" in Transporter 3 remains to this day one of the most popular articles in the history of this blog. (Who would have thought?) Anyway, in the true Eurospy tradition, the women in the Transporter movies were pretty disposable. Like Bond Girls, each one was unique to the film she appeared in, and audiences didn't expect them to come back.  (Rudakova, in fact, was the only one Statham's Frank Martin was even romantically involved with.) Apparently the TV series will be different.  Now Frank has a "handler." (See? I keep telling you transporters are a lot like spies!)

According to Deadline, "The series centers on professional transporter Frank Martin (Vance), a role played in the movies by Jason Statham. Operating in a seedy underworld of dangerous criminals and desperate players, Frank can always be counted on to get the job done -- discreetly. Osvárt, repped by Innovative and Mosaic, will play Frank's handler Carla, an extremely crafty former CIA operative who organizes his missions, acts as his eyes and ears on the outside, and continually stokes the flames of their unrequited attraction." That seems about right for a TV version. TV's Frank (no relation to Dr. Forrester's sidekick, I presume) needs a beautiful sparring partner for unrequited attraction. (See: Burn Notice.) And there's certainly no denying Osvárt's beauty--or her credentials. Like Rudakova and Olga Kurylenko (who also started out as a neo-Eurospy babe before graduating to Bond Girl), the 32-year-old Osvárt hails from Europe. She was born in Hungary where she began a modeling career that took her to Italy and France, and led to acting. She's also got some spy experience, having played small roles in Duplicity and Spy Game. I look forward to seeing what she brings to the latest incarnation of The Transporter.

Speaking of the Transporter himself, perhaps I was a little hard on Chris Vance in my original post about his casting.  EW has an interview with him accompanied by a photograph (or is it Photoshopped?) that looks suitably Transporterish and goes a long way on selling him in the part. Plus, he seems to come off as a nice guy. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and wait to see how his Transporter shapes up.

So we know the male and female leads in the series, but I have yet to see confirmation of its real star: what kind of car will Frank Martin be driving on cable? (In other words, what company will pony up for the potentially lucrative product placement deal?) In the first movie, it was a BMW. In the second two, it was an Audi, which has become more associated with the character. But on television, it could conceivably be something completely different.

Reminder: Covert Affairs Returns Tonight For Season 2

The CIA series Covert Affairs, starring Piper Perabo, returns tonight, Tuesday, June 7, at 10/9c on USA. I picked Covert Affairs as one of the best new spy shows of last year, and I'm eagerly looking forward to the new season.

Read my review of Covert Affairs' Season 1 pilot here.

New Spy DVDs Out Today: Burn Notice, Leverage and Bond

It's quite a day for fun retro cable spy (or spy-ish) shows!  Today sees new season releases for both USA's Saint-like Burn Notice and TNT's Mission: Impossible-like Leverage. 

First up, from Fox Home Entertainment comes Burn Notice: Season Four... in which the great Bruce Campbell (Sam Axe) finally makes the front cover for the first time!  (Along with the also-deserving Sharon Gless.)  Like Season Three, this release is DVD-only; there's no Blu-ray.  (Likely this decision is due to the abysmal reviews received by the high-def BD transfer of the second season, the only one issued on that format.)  Bonus features on this set include "never-before-seen bonus footage such as 'Sam Axe's Guide to Ladies and Libations,' 'Burn Notice Roasts White Collar', 'White Collar Roasts Burn Notice,' audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes stunt featurette, a gag reel and tons of deleted scenes!" Retail for the 4-disc set is $49.98, but of course it's much less than that right now on Amazon: just $29.99. The spin-off telefilm starring Campbell that followed the fourth season, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, is not included on this set, but will be available on its own on DVD and Blu-ray on July 26.

Read my review of Burn Notice: Season One here.

Also out today, from Paramount, is TNT's very entertaining Leverage: The 3rd Season. The four-disc set of this lighthearted, latter-day Mission: Impossible includes audio commentaries on all 16 episodes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and the behind-the-scenes featurettes "On Set with Colton & Aboud: The New Writers of Leverage," "Inside the Leverage Writers' Room" and "Leverage: What Does a Producer Do?" I'm surprised last year's Comic-Con panel isn't included, but that's a pretty generous batch of extras nonetheless. SRP is $39.99, but Amazon's got it for $26.99 at the moment.

Read my review of Leverage: The 1st Season here.

In addition to those shows, Fox and MGM are also slipping in another James Bond release today.  The Sean Connery Collection: Volume 2 assembles Connery's fourth, fifth and sixth Bond films together in one slim, convenient and attractive DVD-size case. It's not a 3-disc set, though; this is a 6-disc set, as it includes both discs of each of the Special Edition DVDs of Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever.  So you get those three movies (in breathtaking Lowery restorations), plus all the bonus material from the original Special Edition releases in one low-priced set.  Retail is $24.98, but Amazon has The Sean Connery Collection: Volume 2 for just $19.99.  It seems highly unlikely that anyone reading this blog wouldn't have these movies yet, but if you don't (and you haven't made the Blu-ray plunge), then this is a good way to buy them.  I wonder why it took them this long to release Region 1 Bond collections by actor?  It just makes sense!  (Except that such a release strategy would presumably end up excluding some of the very best films in the series, those starring George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton.)  I have no idea if there are any plans for Roger Moore collections, but as the "Volume 2" would seem to signify, this Connery set is a follow-up to The Sean Connery Collection: Volume 1, which snuck out under the radar (unnoticed by me, anyway) back in January and includes (naturally) Dr. No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. Now if only MGM would get around to putting out the rest of the Bond titles on Blu-ray...  I want On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Spy Who Loved Me in high-def!  (And all the others, too, of course.)

Gavin Rossdale to Appear on Burn Notice

In other USA casting news, EW reports that former Bush frontman and current Mr. Gwen Stefani Gavin Rossdale will appear on Burn Notice this season as a wealthy villain.  I hope he has a gadget suitcase that sprouts razorblades.  It's not Rossdale's first foray into television; he previousy guest-starred on a 2009 episode of Criminal Minds. Additionally, 24 and NCIS veteran Davad Dayan Fisher (he plays a CIA operative on NCIS) will appear in the same episode as a ruthless mercenary. 

Tradecraft: Thor's Jamie Alexander Signs Up For Covert Affairs

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jamie Alexander, who made quite a memorable impression as the goddess Sif in Thor, will join USA's Covert Affairs for at least three episodes this season. The trade reports that Alexander will play a CIA techie named Reva Kline, "an attractive brunette in her thirties who was the youngest person to ever land a project in the CIA's Directorate of Science & Technology." Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) finds it a challenge to work with Reva thanks to the young techie's inability to socialize with others.

In other Covert Affairs casting news, ubiquitous movie baddie Peter Stormare (Fargo, Armageddon, The Tuxedo) has landed a guest spot in one of Alexander's episodes as Belarusian security agent Max Kupala. His character will abduct Annie and Reva on the Poland-Belarus border in hopes of ransoming the American agents. Stormare recently guest starred on an episode of Hawaii Five-0.

Covert Affairs returns for a second season tonight at 10PM on USA.

Trailer For Cinemax's Strike Back

Cinemax has released a trailer for their "new" original series Strike Back... and apparently it debuts much sooner than I thought: this summer!  (I'd assumed it was a fall show.)  "New" is in quotation marks because, as previously reported, this is actually the second season of the UK series Chris Ryan's Strike Back, which aired over there on the satellite network Sky.  But despite being the second season, it's got new stars and a new, more American format (ten hour-long episodes instead of three hour-and-a-half episodes).  Yet it's not a remake, as evidenced by the different UK trailer (below), which makes it clear (somewhat surprisingly) that Spooks/MI-5's Richard Armitage, who starred in the first season, is still involved.  (There they're calling the new series Strike Back: Project Dawn to differentiate it from the original.) However, it looks like he'll be sidelined in favor of the new actors (including an American lead, played by an Australian)... most likely because he's tied up down in New Zealand shooting two Hobbit movies.  (Luckily, that didn't stop Martin Freeman from continuing his UK TV show, though... and he's the star of The Hobbit!) It seems like a good arrangement to me: maintain continuity from the first series but make the second friendly to new viewers as well.  I imported the Region 2 DVDs of the original series and what I put on briefly looked good, but I still haven't had a chance to watch it in earnest.  I'll post a review when I do.  That said, I think the new Cinemax version looks cool, too!

Tradecraft: Morena Baccarin Heads For Homeland

Deadline reports that Morena Baccarin (Firefly, V) has joined the cast of Showtime's Homeland, the new spy series from 24 producers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa.  The Serenity actress will play Jessica Brody, the "strong, smart wife" of rescued POW Marine Sergeant Scott Brody (Damian Lewis). Driven CIA agent Carrie Anderson (Claire Danes) believes that Brody has been turned during his time in captivity, and now represents a Manchurian Candidate-like threat to homeland security.  Baccarin replaces Laura Fraser, who played that part in the pilot.  Many people (myself included) fully expected Joss Whedon to cast his Firefly star as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in his movie of Marvel's superhero squad The Avengers (no relation to the TV show), but instead he opted for How I Met Your Mother's Cobie Smulders.  Now Baccarin ends up in a spy project anyway—even if she's not playing an agent.

Watch the exciting teaser for Homeland, which debuts this fall, here.

Covert Affairs Season 2 Campaign Ramps Up

I was very pleasantly surprised to spot the first bus stop poster I'd seen for the second season of USA's Covert Affairs while driving home the other day.  In addition to the posters, Deadline reports that USA is making a big push in movie theaters, running this spot for Covert Affairs and White Collar before big summer movies like Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and X-Men: First Class.  I know, I know; where's the news in that?  I see ads for USA shows before the trailers every time I go to an AMC theater.  Well, though the article is vague, I think the implication is that this will actually run with the movie trailers, and not with the pre-trailer advertisements.  The spot, unfortunately, doesn't reveal any new footage from Season 2.  But it does serve as a good introduction to the series for viewers who have never seen this smart, compelling CIA dramady starring Piper Perabo.  Covert Affairs returns on Tuesday, June 7.

Read my review of Covert Affairs' Season 1 pilot here.

Homeland Trailer

Homeland (which has been in development since last fall) may be familiar territory for 24 producer Howard Gordon, but I have to hand it to him: while it does look to share the suspense of 24, it also manages to look like a completely different take on the subject of spies fighting terrorism on US soil.  As previously reported, Claire Danes plays a CIA agent convinced that a newly rescued American POW has been turned, Manchurian Candidate-style, and now poses a threat.  Mandy Patinkin is her Agency mentor.  And it looks good! Homeland debuts on Showtime this fall.  Check out the teaser:

Tradecraft: Meet the New Transporter

Deadline reports that Chris Vance, who played the smarmy "psycho" arms dealer Mason Gilroy on Season 3 of Burn Notice, has been tapped to fill Jason Statham's sizable shoes on EuropaCorp's Transporter TV series.  Hm.  I'm not convinced.  Vance didn't really impress me on Burn Notice, and physically he's certainly no Statham... but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.  (At least he's English.)  I think he was also considered for the new Saint telefilm, so presumably he's got reserves of charm that weren't on display in Burn Notice.  As previously reported, the 12-episode, $48 million Transporter TV series (based on the awesome Luc Besson-produced series of neo-Eurospy movies) will air here on Cinemax. It will shoot in Europe.

New Spy DVDs Out This Week and Last: Elke, Avengers, Bad Hair and Deceptive Bionic Affairs

Wow, this is one of those weeks with just a ton of new spy DVDs! That's why it's taken me an extra day to compile this post. As always, please consider supporting this site by buying these titles from the Amazon links here if they catch your fancy.

Covert Affairs
On a huge day for spy releases, USA's summer hit Covert Affairs (which made my own list of the best new spy TV shows of 2010) is probably the biggest domestic release. Covert Affairs (review here) stars Piper Perabo as freshman CIA officer Annie Walker. While there are a few of the soap opera elements that have haunted the genre since Alias, Covert Affairs is mainly a spy show as workplace dramady. I've always been a fan of the "desk" side of the spy drama, and I think Covert Affairs handles the office politics better than any other US spy series I can think of. (Certainly better than the melodramatic histrionics of CTU!) Of course, this is still a USA show, which means it's got its share of in-the-field excitement as well. It's a solid, fairly believable, character-driven espionage series that should appeal to all fans of the genre. If you missed it on TV, give it a try on DVD. Extras include commentaries on three episodes featuring stars Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham, executive producers Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) and David Bartis and show creators Matt Corman and Chris Ord, deleted scenes, a gag reel, an exclusive tour of the Covert Affairs set, featurettes ("Welcome to The Farm," "Blind Insight") and a descriptive narration of the visual elements of the series for visually impaired viewers. Covert Affairs: Season One, a 3-disc set, retails for $59.98, but can currently be ordered from Amazon for nearly half that. 

Circles of Deceit

From Acorn comes another obscure British spy series—this one from the Nineties. Circles of Deceit stars ITV mainstay Dennis Waterman (The Sweeny, Minder) and consists of four TV movies made in 1995 and '96: Circle of Deceit, Dark Secret, Kalon and Sleeping Dogs. Waterman plays a former special-forces operative who remains on call for MI5. His assignments find him taking on Irish terrorists, tracking down professional assassins, and pitting his wits against ruthless drug dealers. But, true to the genre, some of his deadliest adversaries are his devious bosses who keep him on a need-to-know basis, forcing him to rely on his instincts and his training in a world of betrayal, danger, and deceit. Guest stars include Derek Jacobi, John Hannah, Peter Vaughan and Leo McKern (The Prisoner). Retail for the 2-disc set is $49.99, but naturally Amazon's got it for substantially less.

The Prize
Four years ago it was rumored to be part of a Warner Paul Newman Collection on DVD, but that never materialized.  Two years ago, Warner reps said it was still in the works.  But it still didn't appear. Now, The Prize is finally available... but on MOD instead of DVD, from The Warner Archive. It's still fully remastered though. Writer Ernest Lehman shamelessly rips off his own script for North By Northwest in this lightweight Stockholm-set thriller starring Paul Newman, Elke Sommer and Edward G. Robinson. Instead of a biplane, Paul Newman outruns a... truck. (Um, yeah. Not quite as exciting.) Instead of rudely interrupting an auction to evade the baddies by getting himself arrested, he rudely interrupts a nudist meeting for the same reason. It’s not a great movie like Hitchcock's, but it's a damn good imitation and it's seriously entertaining. And, best of all, it’s got Elke... and that’s all that really matters.  A day with another Elke Sommer spy movie on DVD is a good day.

The Bionic Woman: Season Two
Universal follows up last fall's release of Season 1 of the cult classic 70s show with The Bionic Woman: Season 2. Lindsay Wagner stars as Jamie Sommers, bionic agent of the super-secret OSI (Office of Scientific Investigations) who undertakes increasingly dangerous covert missions at the behest of her boss, Oscar Goldman. Unlike the truncated first season, the second season includes a full 24 episodes. Better still, it also includes two crossover episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man so you've got the complete package! Retail is $39.98; Amazon's got it now for $26.99.

The Complete Avengers
Last week saw the UK release of Optimum's The Complete Avengers: 50th Anniversary Edition. This is the big one. This set assembles all five sets (Seasons 2-6 as well as the few surviving first season episodes) of special features-laden, remastered Avengers DVDs that Optimum put out over the past two years. The picture on these discs looks better than you've ever seen it before, but the individual releases were plagued with technical issues. Fortunately, this complete set contains fixed versions of all the discs, minus all the flaws. So if you've been holding out, well, then you're in luck. Buy now. If you've been buying all the individual releases, well, the bad news isn't over yet. You see, the best feature of this massive, 39-disc set is an exclusive bonus DVD containing the Holy Grail(s) of Avengers curiosities (well, my own Holy Grails, at least, ever since I learned of their existence 13 years ago): the 8mm short films Diana Rigg made following her color series, Das Diadem (The Golden Schlusse) and Mini Killers. For reasons known only to her, Rigg agreed to star as a very Emma Peel-like character in these silent fan films made by wealthy German and Spanish amateur auteurs. By all accounts, they're weird and not worth thirteen years of pursuit. But I still need to see them, and they're still wonderful extra bonus features. And they're still available only with this set, along with a featurette on the show's locations, some archival trailers and a few more first season episode reconstructions. And besides that new stuff, of course you also get all the amazing value-added content from the individual releases.  The only thing you don't get is The New Avengers. I'm not sure why Optimum didn't just go all the way and include that too, but it's available on its own (and at quite a bargain price right now on Amazon.co.uk). The Complete Avengers: 50th Anniversary Edition, a must-own spy title if ever there was one, sells for a prohibitive £143.99 on Amazon.co.uk.

The Fortunes and Misfortunes of James Bond and Mrs. Peel
Finally, though it's not a spy series, another new DVD from last week worth noting is the BFS release of The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders starring Doctor Who's Alex Kingston and, more relevantly, co-starring Daniel Craig and Diana Rigg. But the combination of James Bond and Emma Peel together isn't even why I'm mentioning this. I'm mentioning it because of Craig's hair, which definitely counts in the "misfortunes" category of the title.  In fact, all three of those words in that tagline on the cover refer to the hair: "Notorious. Scandalous. Unforgettable!" As a document of the current 007's worst hair ever, this DVD earns a mention here.

Tradecraft: Only One Spy Show On USA's New Development Slate

Deadline has a report from USA's upfront presentation in New York last week revealing the cable network's current development slate, and, somewhat surprisingly, only one of the shows on the docket is about spies.  While one out of thirteen ain't bad by normal standards, USA is a network and a brand largely based on the success of spy series, like Burn Notice (which set the template for their current slate of successes), Covert Affairs and (going way back) La Femme Nikita. Here's the official synopsis of the one for spy fans to keep their eyes on—one of several recent shows or pilots that seems to owe a bit to Scarecrow and Mrs. King.

HARD COVER (One hour drama)

The best undercover operative can blend in anywhere and be completely unassuming. Then who better to go on assignment than a middle-aged Mom working with a rogue FBI agent? Writer/Executive Producers are Peter Paige and Brad Bredeweg. Executive Producer is Laurie Zaks (Castle). From Universal Cable Productions.

Tradecraft: Homeland Goes To Series

The Hollywood Reporter reports that 24 showrunner Howard Gordon's new spy pilot Homeland, starring Claire Danes, has been picked up for a full twelve-episode season by Showtime.  In case you've missed all the previous Homeland coverage here, the trade handily describes the show as "a psychological thriller from Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa and Gideon Raff [telling] the story of a CIA officer (Danes) battling her own demons who becomes convinced that the intelligence that led to the rescue of a U.S. soldier (Lewis) was a setup." A short clip popped up online today featuring Danes and Mandy Patinkin (looking a lot like Steven Spielberg, for some reason), who plays her mentor.  I think it looks pretty cool.  It's very classic spy stuff, basically the Cold War question of identifying whether a defector is for real or not updated for the War on Terror era.

Sam Axe Trailer

USA has posted a trailer for next week's TV movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe starring Bruce Campbell. It's got lots of fantastic Bruce Campbell moments and looks great! Here's the official synopsis:

Before Sam Axe teamed up with Michael and Fiona, he was Commander Axe, U.S. Navy SEAL. The Fall of Sam Axe tells the story of how Sam went from respected Naval Commander to the man of mystery we’ve come to know on Burn Notice. On what will turn out to be Sam’s last military mission, he is sent to the jungles of Colombia to investigate claims of a vicious terrorist organization known only as the “Espada Ariente” (Flaming Sword). His mission: to determine whether U.S. military aid is necessary to deal with the threat. But when he arrives, things are more complicated than he’d imagined. He receives word that the rebels have targeted a small civilian clinic deep in the jungle. Sam must now save the clinic’s doctors and patients from certain death. However, nothing is as it seems and the Espada Ardiente may not be the biggest threat Sam Axe faces.

Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, directed by series star Jeffrey Donovan, airs next Sunday, April 17 at 9 Eastern. The regular series returns this summer.

Tradecraft: Comedy Central Books Comedy Spies

Deadline reports that Comedy Central is finalizing a pilot order for a series called Black Jack from Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green. According to the trade blog, Michael Starrbury's script centers on covert operative Black Jack who, "after 20 years as the most kick-ass special ops agent the US government has had on its payroll, finally goes too far and is de-commissioned. He's sent home to begin the most treacherous mission he's ever faced -- normal life." Green will direct the pilot and produce the series along with Starrbury, Danny McBride, Jody Hill and Matt Reilly. Green's latest movie is Your Higness, starring McBride and James Franco, but before he fell in with this comedy crowd he was better known for stark indie dramas like George Washington and All the Real Girls. I thought Pineapple Express (whose script contained a great Thunderball joke that didn't make it into the final film) was one of the best blends of action and comedy that I've ever seen, so he's probably the right guy to helm a spy comedy. The pilot order is still cast-contingent, meaning the cable net has to approve the star. I really wish they could afford Kiefer Sutherland, because I'd love to see him send up his Jack Bauer image!

Upcoming Spy DVDs: Burn Notice and Leverage

TVShowsOnDVD reports that the latest seasons of two of basic cable's most fun hour-long shows are on their way to DVD.  According to the website, Burn Notice: Season Four will hit DVD on June 7 from Fox Home Entertainment.  And the great Bruce Campbell (Sam Axe) finally made the front cover for the first time!  (Along with the also-deserving Sharon Gless.)  Like Season Three, this release is DVD-only; there's no Blu-ray.  (Likely this decision is due to the abysmal reviews received by the high-def BD transfer of the second season, the only one issued on that format.)  Bonus features on this set include "never-before-seen bonus footage such as 'Sam Axe's Guide to Ladies and Libations,' 'Burn Notice Roasts White Collar', 'White Collar Roasts Burn Notice,' audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes stunt featurette, gag reel, and tons of deleted scenes!" Retail is $49.98, but of course you can currently pre-order it on Amazon for substantially less at $31.99.

TVShowsOnDVD also reports that TNT's Leverage: The 3rd Season will hit shelves that same day, June 7, courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. The four-disc set of this lighthearted, latter-day Mission: Impossible includes audio commentaries on all 16 episodes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and the behind-the-scenes featurettes "On Set with Colton & Aboud: The New Writers of Leverage," "Inside the Leverage Writers' Room" and "Leverage: What Does a Producer Do?" I'm surprised last year's Comic-Con panel isn't included, but that's a pretty generous batch of extras nonetheless. SRP is $39.99.

Read my review of Burn Notice: Season One here.
Read my review of Leverage: The 1st Season here.

Tradecraft: HBO Plots Another Cold War Spy Drama

Deadline reports that HBO, the same cable network that's already devloping a Berlin-set 1960s spy drama with Malcolm Gladwell, is now concocting another espionage period piece from slightly later in the Cold War: the 1980s.  The series, from from writer-director Martyn Burke (Pirates of Silicon Valley, Avenging Angelo), will focus on deep-cover Russian sleeper agents operating in the United States, a subject he previously explored in a 1982 documentary.  Interestingly, the trade blog notes that it's to some degree inspired by true events (tangentially) from Burke's life: "In the 80s, [Burke] was traveling the U.S. with a camera crew while making a documentary. However, unbeknownst to him, the sound man on the crew was in reality a colonel in the Soviet KGB. The Soviet spy later set up his base of operations outside New York City while attempting to raise a family as an ordinary American citizen but was eventually caught."  The brief news item doesn't really give any indication of the potential show's tone, but if it winds up being remotely comedic, then it sounds a bit like the classic early 90s UK series Sleepers, which followed a pair of Russian sleepers in Britain who've grown accustomed to their cushy Capitalist lives and don't wish to be suddenly awakened. Burke's past spy filmography doesn't really hint at the tone, either; he's been all over the place!  In addition to the aforementioned documentary on KGB operations in the US called The KGB Connections (obviously serious), Burke also co-wrote the wacky Zucker Brothers spoof Top Secret!