50 Fun Facts About Burn Notice

On which cable channel did Burn Notice originally air from 2007 to 2013?

In 2010 it was cable's second most-watched scripted series with 6.7 million viewers, behind Royal Pains.

Who created Burn Notice?

His pilot script won a 2008 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Television Episode Teleplay.

Who plays burned spy Michael Westen?

He later played mobster Dodd Gerhardt in Fargo and appeared in both Sicario films.

In which city is Michael stranded after being burned?

It is his hometown; if he leaves he will be hunted down, so he stays and works as an unlicensed private investigator.

In which country was Michael in the middle of an operation when he was burned?

He was beaten and kidnapped, then woke up in Miami with his assets frozen and his contacts gone.

What is distinctive about the show's narration?

Michael's commentary plays like a training or orientation film for fledgling agents.

Who plays Fiona Glenanne, Michael's ex-girlfriend?

She was born in Surrey and had earlier played Margaret Tudor in The Tudors and Sam Black in Press Gang.

Which organization was Fiona formerly a member of?

She serves as Michael's firearms and explosives supplier; Matt Nix said of her that 'violence is foreplay'.

What changed about Fiona between the pilot and the second episode?

She also changed her style of dress to distance herself from her past and blend in.

Who plays Sam Axe, Michael's best friend?

He is best known as Ash in the Evil Dead films; his prequel movie was directed by his Burn Notice co-star.

In which branch of the military did Sam Axe serve before retiring?

He retired as a Commander in 2005; in the pilot he is also secretly an FBI informant reporting on Michael.

What alias does Sam Axe use most often on jobs?

It is the name of a California Angels pitcher he liked to bet on, and coincidentally of a coworker of Bruce Campbell's father.

How does the perpetually broke Sam usually get by in Miami?

They provide food, shelter and nice cars; he is also 'the guy who knows a guy'.

Which Cagney & Lacey star plays Michael's chain-smoking mother?

She earned the show's first acting Emmy nomination in 2010; Madeline notes in the pilot that Michael missed his father's funeral 'by eight years'.

Which character, played by Coby Bell, joins the team in season four after Michael accidentally burns him?

He briefly considers killing Michael when he learns the truth, then stays with the team even after his burn is lifted.

What is the name of Michael's younger brother, killed by a sniper in season six?

Seth Peterson played him; Michael and Fiona later raise his son Charlie in Ireland.

Which West Wing actor played Phillip Cowan, the man who wrote Michael's burn notice, in season one?

Michael finds him only to see him killed, and the season ends with a call from a mysterious woman.

Which Battlestar Galactica actress played Michael's season-two handler, Carla?

She keeps Michael in line by threatening his family, and kills her own wrangler Victor in the finale.

Which Frasier actor appeared as the shadowy leader known only as 'Management'?

He arrives by helicopter after the season-two dock shootout and takes Michael for a ride over the ocean.

How does season three open?

He is met by Detective Michelle Paxson, freed to pursue him now that Management has lifted his protection.

Which season-three villain, played by Garret Dillahunt, committed the crimes Michael was framed for?

Gilroy was breaking him out of prison; Simon later reveals a coded Bible listing everyone who burned Michael.

In season four, what object contains the coded list of the people who burned Michael?

Telecom magnate John Barrett dies chasing it, and Jesse's old handler Marv is killed once it resurfaces.

Which Terminator 2 actor played telecommunications magnate John Barrett in season four?

Michael is forced to kill him to save himself and loses the coded list in the process.

Who plays Anson Fullerton, the psychopath who co-founded The Organization and blackmails Fiona?

He tricks her into confessing to the British Consulate bombings; she eventually surrenders to the FBI to free Michael.

Which Scrubs actor plays Tom Card, the CIA agent who trained Michael, in season six?

Card turns out to have hired the sniper who killed Michael's brother; Michael eventually kills him, triggering a CIA manhunt.

In the season-six finale, from what does Michael force a confession out of CIA hunter Olivia Riley?

Riley, played by The Wire's Sonja Sohn, had been working with a drug cartel to bring Michael down.

How many episodes did the seventh and final season have?

Seasons four through six had 18 apiece; the first had 12.

In the series finale, where are Michael and Fiona living as they raise Nate's son Charlie?

They must be presumed dead, and Michael is 'posthumously' given a star on the CIA Memorial Wall.

Who sacrifices herself in the finale to protect Charlie and Jesse from James's men?

Michael then shoots James, who blows up his own building trying to take Michael and Fiona with him.

What was the title of the 2011 prequel TV movie centered on Sam Axe?

Set two years before the pilot, it follows Sam's last mission in Colombia, with Pedro Pascal as a rogue commandante.

Who directed the Sam Axe prequel movie?

The show's leading man also made a cameo in it.

In which Miami neighborhood was the show's permanent set, inside a former convention center?

The city let producers stay one more year for a seventh season at higher rent; the set was torn down on August 30, 2013.

What honor did Matt Nix's pilot script win in 2008?

The Edgars honor the best in mystery writing; the show also earned Emmy nominations for sound mixing.

Which former CIA officer became a script advisor for season six after meeting Matt Nix on a flight?

He had asked who the show's advisor was because of its accuracy, only to learn there had never been one.

Which fellow USA series beat Burn Notice for the title of most-watched cable scripted show in 2010?

Burn Notice averaged 6.7 million viewers that year and later went into syndication on Ion alongside White Collar.

According to the character guide, what is Michael's loft refrigerator stocked with?

The decrepit loft above a nightclub also has a punching bag, barbells and no air conditioning.

Which Animal House alumnus plays 'Dead' Larry Sizemore, Michael's disillusioned old colleague?

Larry worked with Michael in Serbia and Russia and keeps trying to convince him the government is the enemy.

How many episodes made up the first season?

Two FBI agents, Harris and Lane, spent the season keeping tabs on Michael before Jason Bly replaced them.

According to Michael, how many years of karate does he have?

He also claims to be 'rated with anything that fires a bullet or holds an edge', though his Spanish is shaky until the last season.

Which season-seven villain, played by Adrian Pasdar, sacrifices himself to help Michael rescue a woman?

That woman leads Michael into the organization run by James, played by John Pyper-Ferguson.

Whom does Michael kill in season seven to protect Fiona, prompting James's revenge?

James then sends men after Maddie, Charlie and Jesse.

Which Stargate SG-1 actor played Victor, Carla's wrangler who rigged the loft with explosives?

Michael discovers Carla had Victor's family killed as part of his recruitment.

How does Michael end his relationship with Management in the season-two finale?

Walking away also ended the secret protection Management had been providing him.

Which Terminator actress played Detective Michelle Paxson, the Miami cop hunting Michael in season three?

Her sudden interest in Michael was a direct result of Management lifting his protection.

In season five, which Romanian agent turns out to have murdered Michael's CIA partner Max?

Korzha confesses while Agent Pearce listens on a hidden microphone, then commits suicide.

Which Melrose Place actor played Max, Michael's CIA partner in season five?

Max's murder is staged to frame Michael, who has to clear his name with Agent Dani Pearce.

In season six, who does Michael discover actually shot Anson and Nate?

Gray then reveals that Tom Card hired him and that Card's Panama operation was a sham designed to kill Michael's team.

Which cast member earned the show's first acting Emmy nomination, in 2010?

She was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama for playing Madeline.

In The Fall of Sam Axe, which future Mandalorian star plays the corrupt Commandante Veracruz?

The prequel is set in Colombia two years before the pilot and aired in April 2011.

Which network syndicated Burn Notice from 2013 alongside another USA series, White Collar?

It was the fourth USA series to land on Ion, following Monk and Psych.