Basic cable network USA isn’t exactly known for groundbreaking programming. You’re not going to find a Sopranos or The Wire or Dexter or Weeds here. By the same token, USA doesn’t subject its audience to mindless game shows like Deal or No Deal or puerile comedy like Big Bang Theory. USA is more subtle than that.
What USA does best is take familiar TV themes, run them through a blender, toss them with contemporary spices and deliver a storyline that’s somehow nostalgic, yet fresh. Take Monk, for instance. The character is a little pinch of Inspector Clouseau, a large jigger of Columbo, and a healthy portion of neurotic angst. Psych hearkens back to sixties and seventies buddy shows like I Spy and Starsky and Hutch, sans the Grand Torino of the latter.
In Plain Sight (premiering on USA, Sunday 8pm EST) loosely follows in that tradition. Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack) is a U.S. Marshal assigned to the Witness Protection Program, or WITSEC (Federalese for Witness Security). That premise has been mined quite a bit in recent years, usually focusing on unsavory characters that the Feds must protect, usually portrayed as an unpleasant task at best. This being a USA series, though, In Plain Sight twists the formula, humanizing the entire process.
Much of the premiere episode establishes the characters that drive the series. Mary Shannon is introduced as the embodiment of Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman,” hard drinking, tough as nails, equally comfortable as a seductress or as a barroom brawler, as conditions demand. Her partner, Marshall Mann (Fred Weller) is her counterpoint, is generally cool and collected, and has the annoying trait of seeming to know just a little bit about everything. He also has a penchant for black designer suits paired with open shirts. Mary, being more practical, favors tank tops and jeans, as the duo tear around their Albuquerque home base in a purple Ford Probe that’s seen better days.
Article comments
1 - Alexia
Great Review!! I saw the commercials for this and thought it looked like it could be pretty good but you definitely sold me on it. USA does a great job with creating interesting characters and from your description it sounds like they did it again with this show. I'll make sure to catch this especially since Cristián de la Fuente from Dancing with the Stars plays the "boyfriend"
2 - Alexia
Great Review!! I saw the commercials for this and thought it looked like it could be pretty good but you definitely sold me on it. USA does a great job with creating interesting characters and from your description it sounds like they did it again with this show. I'll make sure to catch this especially since Cristián de la Fuente from Dancing with the Stars plays the "boyfriend"