One afternoon, I stumbled upon a marathon of the new USA network series, White Collar. Well, it only took one episode and I knew I am hooked! Why you may ask? Two words......Neil Caffrey (played by Matt Bomer). He is sly, smart, suave and oh so good looking. Yeah I know this is turning out to be a not so objective post about the show.
Anyway, the premise is an FBI agent, Peter Burke (Tim Dekay) seeks the help of a con artist he had put in jail, Neil Caffrey. Caffrey provides Burke with insights into cases in exchange for a "work-release" program. He then directly works under the supervision of Burke with the condition that he wears a tracking bracelet. Together they try to find stolen antiquities, jewelry and paintings, crack a phony hedge fund company and even break-up an illegal organ trafficking ring. It's Thomas Crown Affair meets Catch Me If You Can. The show is fast paced and intriguing. There is a peripheral plot where Caffrey's main reason for pushing for this "work-release" program is for him to find Kate, the woman he loves who he believes is held captive by an FBI agent. That plot line evolves as more episodes are aired but the individual cases are solved per episode.
Another thing I like about the show is that it's shot in NYC with a lot of the famous city landmarks being show. In addition, as a theatre fan, one finds several theatre actors in guest starring roles. Aaron Lazar (Tale of Two Cities and currently in A Little Night Music) was a priest in one episode and Diahann Carroll (Agnes of God) was in some too. It's a great way to get some Broadway spotting!
White Collar airs at 10pm ET/ 9pm CT on the USA Network.
