USA Network's White Collar

Several weeks ago, a grade school classmate of mine (who I reconnected with through Facebook) asked me what I thought of USA Network’s new show, White Collar. The show’s Friday night slot at 10 PM makes it a show I often miss, due to busy Friday nights in the O’Shea mansion. But I like the show–although it’s a different beast and a far leisurely pace than my favorite USA Network show, Burn Notice. So I was happy to find out that today USA Network is featuring a White Collar marathon. It started at 1:30 PM (EST) and will rununtil 7 PM. If you like what you see, be sure to come back at 10 PM (EST) for a new episode.

The show started with a con artist,  Neal Caffrey, breaking out of prison just before he was due to be paroled. The FBI agent Peter Burke, who initially caught Caffrey, quickly catches him again. Staring at an additional four years in jail, Cafferty offers to use his criminal expertise to help Burke. Begrudgingly Burke accepts, knowing just how smart his former adversary is. There’s an element of the late l1960s Robert Wagner series, It Takes  a Thief, as well as a sliver of Burn Notice. What I mean by the latter aspect is that Caffrey broke out of jail because his girlfriend, Kate, had left him. The mystery of how and why she left him is an overarching plot thread being carried through every episode.

Of the two leads, Burke is played by Tim DeKay and reminds me of a young Chris Cooper. Caffrey is played by an actor (Matthew Bomer) that folks like myself (who are longtime fans of NBC’s Chuck) will recognize him as that series pivotal character, Bryce Larkin. The witty banter and general chemistry between the two leads are the core appeal of the series.

If you read this after today’s marathon airs, no worries, as USA Network offers all the episodes online for free.