Tradecraft: New Series From Burn Notice Creator Matt Nix

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Fox has picked up a new hourlong series from Matt Nix, the man who created TV's hottest (and best) current spy show, Burn Notice. And it's not just a pilot order, but following Fox TV Studios' new "straight-to-series inernational co-production model," the show has received a full thirteen-episode order! The new series, Jack and Dan, is not a spy series. The logline given in the trade doesn't sound particularly original, but then again, Burn Notice's Saintly (or Equalizery) premise probably didn't read that original on paper either, and Nix has approached that tried and true formula with exciting creativity. Jack and Dan "centers on Jack, an ambitious, by-the-book cop who is partnered with Dan, a drunken, lecherous, wild-card cop." I bet Nix cringes at that write-up. He provides more details that provide a better picture of the series: "It's an action comedy cop show that follows both the cops and the criminals and the ways they come together. The fun is seeing how they clash, and that doesn't happen in the conventional procedural ways." I can definitely see that being fun in Burn Notice's tone.

But enough about cops. We're here for spies! How will Jack and Dan affect Burn Notice? Not much, hopefully! "Schedules on both shows will be staggered," according to the Reporter, "to accommodate Nix, for whom Burn continues to be a priority. 'I am extremely conscious of the fact that we have a very good thing in Burn Notice,' he said. 'It's my baby; I love it, and I still think about it all the time.'" So there you have it. It should be possible to juggle two thirteen-episode series, and Nix should be able to still devote himself fully to Michael Westen & Co.