Review: 'Undercovers'

When you're putting together a TV show that is centered on the CIA and/or spies, the challenge is deciding what to do when you're not blowing things up and staging roof-top chases at night. The action part of the equation is the easiest. But filling in the blanks can be--forgive me--a killer.

USA's "Covert Affairs" solves the problem by making the heroine a green agent who often inadvertently breaks the rules. That dynamic is the framework you can hang the action sequences on in order to put together a complete, vibrant story every week.

NBC's spy drama takes a slightly different approach and while I'm guessing that not every TV critic will enjoy the frothiness of "Undercovers," I found the shiny perkiness an entertaining counterpoint to the shoot'em up scenes.

"Undercovers" is J.J. Abrams' latest TV project and the pilot reads (and looks) like a great lost slightly b-level action film. It's non-stop action, mixed with a sexy romantic streak and more than a few wry laughs.

The show centers around two former secret agents who now run an L.A. catering business. Sure, Steven Bloom (Boris Kodjoe) and his now wife Samantha (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) are spending time together. But there's just something missing in their marriage (although speaking for nearly every guy in America, it seems unlikely that being married to Mbatha-Raw can be that much of a struggle).

Gerald McRaney shows up on their doorstep, introducing himself as some mysterious CIA muckety-muck who needs their help to track down a missing agent. They quit the spy game to be together...but maybe working together would be even better?

There's the slightest bit of hesitation, but before you can say "international travel," the couple is back in the spy game and off to Lisbon and then Paris.

It says a lot about the chemistry of the duo that you don't really dwell on the many unlikely twists in the plot. And it's not until much later that you begin to ponder the unlikely possibility that even one of the fancy spy gadgets used in the show could ever exist in the real world. Plus, if it was up to me, I might make the tone of the show just about 20% edgier.

In the end, what keeps you entertained are the fights and the espionage. There's the expected romantic twists (Samantha used to date the missing spy they're tracking) and it is all resolved neatly in the end. Yes, it's lightweight fun. But let's put the emphasis on the fun. "Undercovers" could be the best thing that's happened to working couples since the invention of the private chat room.

The show isn't going to break any creative barriers. But it promises to be a whole lot of sexy fun.

Maybe my wife and I should think about getting into the spy game.