Burn Notice is an American television comedy-drama series created for the USA Network.

The title refers to the burn notices issued by intelligence agencies to discredit or announce the dismissal of agents or sources who are considered to have become unreliable. The television series is a first-person narrative (including frequent stream of consciousness voice-overs providing nuggets of esoteric exposition) from the viewpoint of covert-operations agent Michael Westen, played by Jeffrey Donovan.

After fleeing a Nigerian operation blown apart by the sudden and unexplained non-cooperation of his U.S. contact, Westen finds himself in his hometown of Miami, Florida, attended to by his ex-girlfriend but abandoned by all his normal intelligence contacts, under continuous surveillance, and his personal assets frozen. Extraordinary efforts to reach his U.S. government handler eventually yield only a grudging admission that someone powerful wants him "on ice" in Miami; if he leaves the city he will "heat up fast", i.e., he will be hunted down and taken into custody, whereas by staying there he can remain relatively free. Consumed by the desire to find out why he's been burned, and by whom, he goes to work as an unlicensed private investigator and freelance spy for anyone in town who can pay him any money in order to fund his personal investigation into his own situation as a blacklisted agent.

Burn Notice has been renewed for a 13 episodes second season, due to air in the summer of 2008.

chael Westen: You say tomato, I say pimp.

chael Westen: My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy until [phone rings] ice on phone: We got a burn notice on you. You're blacklisted. chael Westen: When you're burned, you've got nothing - no cash, no credit, no job history. You're stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in. Where am I? ona Glenanne: Miami chael Westen: You do whatever work comes your way. You rely on anyone who's still talking to you. A trigger-happy ex-girlfriend... ona Glenanne: Should we shot them? chael Westen: An old friend who's informing on you to the FBI... m Axe: You know spies, a bunch of bitchy little girls. ona Glenanne: Family too. [phone rings] m Axe: Is that your mom again? chael Westen: You're desperate. deline Westen: Someone needs your help Michael. chael Westen: Bottom line? Until you figure out who burned you, you're not going anywhere.

chael Westen: [voice-over] Know what it's like being a spy? Like sitting in your dentist's reception area twenty-four hours a day. Read magazines, have coffee, and every so often, someone tries to kill you.

chael Westen: [voice-over] I'll take a hardware store over a gun any day. Guns make you stupid. Better to fight your wars with duct tape. Duct tape makes you smart.

chael Westen: [voice-over] Thirty years of karate, combat experience on five continents, a rating with every weapon that shoots a bullet or holds an edge... Still haven't found any defense against Mom crying into my shirt.

chael Westen: [to bully victim] All right, the key to fighting a group is taking out its leader. Take out its leader - oh, they'll all leave you alone. It's bully psychology. Works with third-world military units as well. chael Westen: [kid rapt attention now] When I was in Afghanistan... never mind that.

chael Westen: [to menacing body guard] Does that shirt come in men's?