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UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers 
USA Network’s hot freshman series Covert Affairs has been renewed for a second season a month into its run. The news comes on the heels of the spy drama hitting series highs across the board on Tuesday, including total viewers (5.4 million, up 4% from last week), adults 18-49 (2.3 million, up 15%) The number of episodes has not been determined yet but is expected to be in the 13-16 range.
The series starring Piper Perabo has been growing consistently since its July 13 premiere, which drew 4.9 million viewers, 2.104 million of them in the adults 18-49, making Covert Affairs the highest-rated scripted cable premiere this year in the key demographic. It has remained the No.1 cable series of the year among 18-49 (2.52 million).
Covert Affairs is the second hot cable freshman this summer to get a quick renewal, following the recent pickup of TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles. It also continues USA’s streak of renewing its first-year series. Last year, both USA freshman series, Royal Pains and White Collar, were picked up. One of them, White Collar, was used as a lead-in to launch Covert Affairs this summer.
Covert Affairs is produced by Universal Cable Prods. and executive produced by Doug Liman and Dave Bartis through Dutch Oven and written and co-executive produced by Matt Corman and Chris Ord. James Parriott serves as executive producer with Jonathan Glassner as co-executive producer. Co-starring opposite Perabo are Christopher Gorham, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Peter Gallagher, Kari Matchett and Anne Dudek.
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Nice when the nice guys come out first.
Ord and Corman are two of the nicest dudes you’re ever going to meet. Mensches. Bartis, Gene Klein, Jim Parriott — good guys. This is an easy one to root for.
And the show is really good — smart, funny, entertaining… when it comes to TV, it’s the larger menu I crave.
Yeah Anne Dudek!
I LOOOOOOVE Emmanuelle Vaugier! She should have been the lead of this show. So beautiful and talented. They need to use her more.
YIPPPEEEEEEEEE…!!!!!!! Love this show – love the people
involved…!!
Nice! I just caught this show for the first time, and I like it.
the show is silly, the lead actress smiles inappropriately in every scene and in every episode; this is like Alias, but even dopier
I’ve been enjoying CA as well, and and add my congratulations to the growing list of well-wishers.
Still, I hope they let Kari Matchett out for a little bit sometimes so she can guest in her recurring role as Tim Hutton’s wife on Leverage.
Jumps the shark in the last ten minutes of every episode so far. Piper Perabo lacks the heft to be even remotely believable beating up men twice her size. Nice try but not quite there.
Maybe next season Piper Perabo character can track and arrest whoever wrote Rocky & Bullwinkle.
Has this gotten better? I’m highly interested in this area (strong female protagonist in a traditional man’s role), but I watched the first twenty minutes of the first episode and thought it unwatchable. Just generic and tired. Has it moved past that?
And for comparison, I’m someone who thinks The Wire is the best thing to ever be put on T.V., likes Mad Men but finds it overrated, am watching and loving Veronica Mars on Netflix, gave up on Dollhouse after about five episodes, but thought it was ok and thinks the original French La Femme Nikita was light years better than the Bridget Fonda remake — actually covet affairs reminded me a bit of an even more awkward version of that.
Of course it’s not the Wire, dude. What is? There’s nothing on TV right now as good as The Wire. But it’s way better than Dollhouse, and better than Alias which got so strangled by all that Rambaldi mythology. It’s an entertaining action show, and I liked it much more than the Undercovers pilot. (Still holding out hope that Undercovers the series is good, because Josh Reims is good at character drama.) Chris Gorham’s character makes the show for me. I still think White Collar is USA’s best show, but this is definitely upper tier on that network.
Is it as good as Breaking Bad? No. Is it more entertaining than any network drama right now, given that 24 and Lost are done and FNL has that weird DIrect TV situation? Yes, though Good Wife is pretty good, too.
I wasn’t suggesting it was or should be The Wire, was just giving my tastes. And based on the first half hour of the first episode it was far, far worse than any of the shows you mentioned. It was unwatchable.
So my question remains, did it change significantly, or are we talking different tastes?
It really is a POS show. Piper can’t act to save her life.
I enjoy CA. Its a fun, light show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Perabo is good as Annie Walker And Ramamurthy is beautiful. Think he is doing a good job as Jai Wilcox. Nice to see him off of Heroes. Looking forward to another season.
I’m all for this genre and strong female leads, but this show feels like a phoned in mishmash of Alias and Chuck.
Chuck does the comedy much better, and Alias did drama better too.
I’d totally Covert Kari Matchestt’s Affairs if you know what I mean. I mean I would throw her one.
Covert Affairs is decent TV, but after each episode I am left with the melancholia of realizing that Alias was SO much better in all respects.
I think Piper Perabo is terrible. She is so miscasted. There is not one scene that makes you believable she is an agent – not even a new agent. She is gorgeous but please, less of her and more of anyone else.
And yet…thats exactly why she was perfect for this role (and the ‘role’ at the CIA). Specifically why they recruited her in the first place. She not supposed to appear to work for the government or any agency for that matter. For all intensive purposes, she is to be a civilian trained in ‘protocol’, to deliver intel to the CIA.
I have to admit that I began watching the show because the producers chose to use Led Zeppelin song titles for show titles….random reason, I know, but it hooked me. By about the sixth episode (Houses of the Holy) the show started to feel less simplistic, took on a more graceful rhythm and seemed to be finding itself. I think Piper is the perfect fit for a show like this. Her performances are varying slightly from show to show, possibly too director dependent. She’s going to grow with it.
I don’t see any use comparing Mad Men and The Wire to shows like Covert Affairs. They have a completely different approach to entertainment. CA is the lighthearted, summer adventure for television. It’s just fun. Mad Men, The Wire and now Rubicon (for me) are art – nuanced, thoughtful, revealing. I would imagine that most people at the end of the day are choosing to watch certain shows based on what’s happening in their everyday lives. If things are complicated and heavy in life, they’re going to reach for something that leaves them feeling at ease. That’s not Mad Men….entertainment just has different benefits.
I just started watching covert affairs this summer. I watch each episode three times. It’s fast pace and not boring. I like all the characters and how they were cast. Please keep it going
I am really enjoying this show. It has some humor and I think the character Annie, is refreshing. Way to go USA
Agreed. The writing: bad. The acting: bad. The action scenes: atrociously fake and completely BS. I have a suspicion that people are watching because of Alias withdrawal and are hoping that this show will turn around. The fact is that Covert Affairs isn’t even in the universe as Alias. Alias was absolutely brilliant from the first minute of the pilot. Covert Affairs comes off like it’s a joke except that no one involved seems to know. It is painful to watch.
Rent the first season of Alias and you will see that I’m right.
I cant believe they didnt protect Ben, please save him, I love the series
Alias did die a horrible death though
The show would be great if you can get past the inappropriate sleeveless dresses and the fact there would never be a husband and wife in the same CIA office.
My husband and I were addicted to Alias. It’s not that easy to write action with humor, but so fab when done well. CA is okay, and we watch it. Go with what’s available. Needs some better scripting; the actors can learn. HA some nice moments and visuals.
I think Burn Notice works as a replacement for something zippy, where all parts of the show are done well. Chuck is funny but the first two episodes this week and last week were exceedingly lame–to the point you’d want the writer run out of town on a rail. Of course not all episodes will be inspired, but man, that was so boring, painfully so. Perhaps it’s that 5-year curse…Now, Psych is still funny.
Sorry about 24, fellas. Humorless propaganda after season 1. No good without Nina. And look at their latest — the Event…omigod, can people get any more paranoid and less funny? I doubt it. As Jack Bauer would say (ad infinitum), trust me…
Post script–someone on this list noted that Alias died a horrible death. Too true. And lingering. Never worked after her cover was blown. But brilliant for a long time. I hope the same thing won’t happen to Psych, Chuck, or Burn Notice. Best to end it while still inspired…like the Monk series. Good time to end. Good ending.
Finally, what was The Wire? I’ve vaguely heard of it. How long did it last? Was it just boring paranoia or did it have some sparkle?
I’ve like pretty much everything USA has put out over the last couple of years. Covert Affairs is right up there. However, I would find it less appealing with Eion Bailey in it. He’s a great actor and I cannot believe he has not landed permanently in series. Killing him off would be redundant with Kate being killed off in White Collar. Need to be more original than the same plot lines from another show.