[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BurnNotice.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:I'll need a few cell phones, some C4 and my sunglasses.]]

->''"When you're burned, you've got nothing: no cash, no credit, no job history. You're stuck in [[UsefulNotes/{{Miami}} whatever city they decide to dump you in]]. You do whatever work comes your way. You rely on anyone who's still talking to you: a {{trigger happy}} girlfriend; an {{old friend}} who used to inform on you to the FBI; family too -- [[AnythingButThat if you're desperate]]. And a down and out spy you met along the way. Bottom line: As long as you're burned, you're not going anywhere."''
-->-- '''OpeningNarration'''

'''''Burn Notice''''' is a USANetwork original series which debuted in 2007. Jeffrey Donovan stars as series protagonist Michael Westen (no, not [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Weston that one ]] although he has guested on the show), an American spy who has been blacklisted by the government (the titular "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burn_notice_(document) burn notice]]"). Michael's burn notice happens right in the midst of a covert mission; he barely escapes, passes out on a plane, and eventually wakes up in UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}. Michael is lucky, though: he has family, friends, and an old girlfriend there.

Michael doesn't have any money or income, and he can't exactly get a job recommendation from his former employers -- to make ends meet, he reluctantly accepts clients from around the Miami area and works to help them with their problems under the table. These problems usually involve saving said clients from various life-threatening situations, mostly of the "good guy gets deep in debt to bad guys" variety. While these tasks take up the majority of an episode, time is also spent on Michael's various attempts to figure out who in the government burned him (and why), as well as his interpersonal relationships with his friends and family.

Michael relies on Fiona Glenanne (his girlfriend and a former [[WesternTerrorists IRA]] operative) and Sam Axe (a retired spy/ex-Navy SEAL who Michael worked with in the past) to watch his back as he takes on con artists, mobsters, gang leaders, and various other underworld riff-raff. From Season Four onwards, the team is joined by Jesse Porter, a counterintelligence agent who was also burned as a side-effect of the MythArc. All of the members of this team are very good at crafting primitive explosive devices and homemade spy gear out of household items. Unconventional warfare is something of a theme; at one point, Michael says, "Guns make you dumb. It's better to fight your wars with duct tape; duct tape makes you smart." The other theme is crafting ''identities'' out of nothing; when dealing with the bad guys, Michael and company often pretend to be criminals (be they rivals or friends) or even innocent civilians, but they never show their true colors unless their hand is forced.

As noted above, Michael is played by Jeffrey Donovan, a previously under-the-radar actor (prior to ''Burn Notice'', he had guest-starring roles on ''Series/LawAndOrder'' and ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'', and he showed up in the best-forgotten ''Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2''). Fiona is played by Gabrielle Anwar, most famous for her brief role as Al Pacino's dancing partner in ''Film/ScentOfAWoman.'' Sam is played by famous chin Creator/BruceCampbell. Sharon Gless (of ''Series/CagneyAndLacey'' fame) plays Michael's mother, Madeline, who often helps Michael find new clients (and sometimes plays a part in helping Michael's operations). Season four introduces and adds Jesse, played by Coby Bell, previously known for ''Series/ThirdWatch'' and ''Series/TheGame''.

Michael is the show's {{narrator}}, explaining to the viewer why he chooses a particular course of action -- but instead of being done as a real time InnerMonologue, the voiceover is done as if he's giving a lecture to a class of students. Viewers can think of Michael the Narrator as a slightly different character from Michael Westen. Through this method, the show addresses a large number of tropes (most of them spy-related) and [[PlayingWithATrope plays with them in a variety of ways.]] The writing is surprisingly aggressive in avoiding the typical action movie clichés: a car won't [[EveryCarIsAPinto explode]] unless [[ExternalCombustion someone's planted a bomb on it]], characters get hurt and are forced to spend [[WalkItOff several episodes limping around]], and making escapes involve either [[TryAndFollow dangerous stunts]] or being small enough to squeeze [[AirVentPassageway through an air vent]].

''Burn Notice'', with its success, has also branched away from ''A-Team''-style clients of the week. From season five onward, the show has explored, expanded, and developed the drama behind the characters and the ramifications of the MythArc something its fellow younger siblings on the USANetwork have begun to do as well. Indeed, through season five and by mid-season six, the original MythArc has effectively been wrapped up and done so front and center stage while introducing new plot points.

The show's sixth season ended in December, 2012, and was renewed for a seventh final season.

A prequel movie, ''BurnNoticeTheFallOfSamAxe'', premiered on USA in 2011. Campbell, of course, starred in the film -- and Jeffrey Donovan served as director.
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!!''Burn Notice'' subpages:
[[index]]
* [[Recap/BurnNotice Episode list]]
* BurnNotice/{{Tropes A to H}}
* BurnNotice/{{Tropes I to P}}
* BurnNotice/{{Tropes Q to Z}}
* [[ShoutOut/BurnNotice Shout Outs]]
[[/index]]
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