BURN NOTICE Preview: John C. McGinley, Now With More Snark

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Burn Notice is the crime your aunt can root for. It’s hard not to side with Michael and his outside-the-law do-gooders. They’re superheroes by way of the CIA, moral to a fault and full of righteous explosions that only knock bad guys to their senses. If that didn’t make them successful enough, they are extremely snarky.

Now, according to our Burn Notice season 6 preview, that snark factor is going atomic.

The wise-ass doctor from Scrubs, John C. McGinley is joining the cast for the upcoming season’s main plot arc. McGinley’s distinctive style ranges from “that prick” to “that prick with a heart of gold.” Given that this is Burn Notice, and human beings are fundamentally decent – and explosion resistant; see above – I’m guessing the latter.

Either that, or he’s the villain. He plays Michael’s CIA mentor and “surrogate father,” Tom Card, so it could go both ways.

Whatever the case turns out to be, I’m sure he’ll have the appeal of habanero pizza: It burns and it’s bad for you, but it’s too appealing to resist. Or maybe that’s just me.

Point is, the guy’s going to be a noble jerk among noble jerks. Naturally, he has a bone to pick with Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) because Bruce is such a Rogue Operator (capitalization mine). You can’t have charm like Campbell’s go unopposed, you see. If everybody embraced Bruce Campbell like they should, the world would be a much more peaceful place.

It’s not, though, and Burn Notice‘s outlaw heroes must battle on to right wrongs like the Reagan administration would like to imagine spies do. In this season six, Burn Notice will explore Michael trying to get to see Fiona, rather than the usual other way around.

No doubt it’ll be a thrill a minute. No sarcasm there; despite my acerbic outlook on Burn Notice‘s over-the-top, overly optimistic style, it’s actually a fun show. One of the things I especially like is the sadism it displays towards its main characters. Innocents may not suffer much, but the central cast sure does. On top of that, it’s seasoned with DIY and clever editing that make it hard not to be interested in.

Matt Nix has a real hit on his hands, and McGinley – one in a solid line of seasonal guest stars – will be right at home among the quality.

And among the bastards.