"Covert Affairs" provides a great mix of thrills and drama. A surefire hit for USA Network.

Sydney Bristow is alive. No, Jennifer Garner is not reprising her fantastic "Alias" role. But watching a preview of USA Network's "Covert Affairs" pilot, I remembered watching "Alias", falling in love with Garner & being excited for each new episode. Yes "Covert Affairs" is that good. Piper Perabo plays the part of new CIA operative to perfection. Perabo is easy on the eyes and her character is a great mix of a likable smart ass and a vulnerable woman that is easy to care for. Did I mention that she's hot? Her smoking looks will lure many folks into watching the show. Her great acting and well written storylines will keep them coming back.
Piper's character Annie Walker is aided by blind CIA agent Auggie Anderson played by Chris Gorham ("Ugly Betty", "Harper's Island"). Now this is where I must make something clear. Chris Gorham and I are the best of friends. We're tight. Buddies. Pals......O.k. I kid. But we do follow each other on Twitter and I'm a fan. Gorham handles playing a blind man admirably. It's not an easy task, yet Gorham pulls it off very well. A nice touch is that Auggie is a bit of a ladies man and the scene of him picking up women in a bar in priceless. The blind community should be proud that an actor of Gorham's caliber is portraying a blind person so well.
Rounding out the cast are acting veterans Peter Gallagher ("The O.C.") and Kari Matchett ("24", "ER") who play a married couple that are both CIA directors. The interplay between the two is perfect and a great subplot that I'm sure will provide quite a bit of material for future episodes. A highlight for me from the pilot was a great marriage therapy session which had Gallagher and Matchett tearing into each other with abandon. Annie Dudek ("Mad Men" "Big Love") plays Annie Walker's sister. The accomplished actress adds a much needed stable family element to Walker's character. And yes, we all can relate to a family member who is always trying to set us up with Mr. or Mrs. Right. Sendhil Ramamurthy ("Heroes") joins the cast starting in the second episode.
The "Covert Affairs" pilot was filled with a great mix of action, car chases, humor and drama. Is the show perfect? No. But it's pretty close. And this was just the pilot. I look forward to watching "Covert Affairs" for many years to come. Sydney Bristow would approve!



Official "Covert Affairs" site: http://usanetwork.com/series/covertaffairs
Covert Affairs on Twitter: www.twitter.com/covertaffairs
Chris Gorham on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Chris_Gorham
Peter Gallagher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/petergallagher_
Annie Dudek on Twitter: www.twitter.com/annedudek