Burn Notice

And so 2013 ends with one final What to Watch to carry you through to 2014. Have some gift card money burning a hole in your wallet? Want something to stream while your family bickers over the holiday? Just need a break from it all? Here are the latest and greatest new releases, listed in the order we’d put ‘em on an Amazon wish list.

CHICAGO – USA and TNT have owned Summer television for the last several years with hits like “White Collar,” “Burn Notice,” “Royal Pains,” and “The Closer”.

CHICAGO – USA and TNT have battled for Summer dominance and they’re both set to bring back several of their biggest hits in the coming weeks. Timed to get fans even more excited for the USA stable, Universal and Fox have released the most recent seasons of hits “Burn Notice,” “White Collar,” and “Fairly Legal” today and all should satisfy hardcore fans even if it is a bit surprising that none of them are being released in HD.

CHICAGO – “If you want a happy ending, it depends on where you stop the story.” Such is the theme of the mid-season premiere of “White Collar,” USA’s hit show that has essentially been working on one arc that could be coming to a close since it premiered — the attachment of G-man Peter Burke (Tom DeKay) to con man Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer). What if Caffrey had a chance to split? Would he take it? Or would he choose to walk the side of the tracks he used to rip off? These questions may not be completely answered by the end of this second half of the third season but it feels like we’ll be closer to the next phase of this massive hit.

CHICAGO – I feel like I’ve written a dozen reviews of USA’s hit “Burn Notice” and they all have basically the same theme — this is a show that could have been great but has now clearly settled for just being good.

CHICAGO – While AMC, FX, and even TNT have been pushing forward in the world of basic cable programming, the very-successful USA network feels like it has been treading water.

CHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Bill Moller’s show on WGN-Radio in Chicago on June 18th, 2011 to discuss upcoming premieres, including “Fallking Skies,” “Combat Hospital,” “Suits,” “Wilfred,” “Louie,” “Burn Notice,” “Expedition Impossible,” and more.

CHICAGO – They can’t all be winners. The third season premiere of “White Collar” definitely feels like a show trying to find its identity after spinning several of the same plates in the air for two hit seasons and with no clear direction on where to go for chapter three.

CHICAGO – My love affair with USA’s “Burn Notice” has been rocky at best. During the second season, it felt like a show that could really blossom into one of the best on cable, but it kind of plateaued a bit in the third season and has been a solid-if-unspectacular program since, never quite living up to its potential while still being entertaining.

CHICAGO – The second wacky legal show debut of the week (after NBC’s awful “Harry’s Law”) is the fairly good “Fairly Legal,” a show that works largely due to the incredible charm of its lead, Sarah Shahi (“Life”).