USA Network announced Thursday that it has renewed "Necessary Roughness," "Royal Pains" and "Covert Affairs," meaning all of the top-rated cable network's summer series have been re-upped..
The new 16-episode orders will activate season three of “Covert Affairs”, season four of “Royal Pains” and season two of Necessary Roughness. The renewals, which follow the season orders of “White Collar”, “Suits”, “In Plain Sight” and “Burn Notice”, were announced today by USA co-presidents Chris McCumber and Jeff Wachtel.
“USA's original programming blew through all expectations this summer. We had an unprecedented number of original series on our air — and every single one of them was great,” said McCumber and Wachtel. “The actors who make our shows unique aren't just stars, they are character actors in the finest sense. Our writers, directors and producers truly understand what it takes to create sustainable success. It's a rare and wonderful thing to announce the pick-up of our entire summer of programming.”
In citing the buoyant numbers for the various pickups, USA noted that “Covert Affairs”, co-produced by Doug Liman and with Piper Perabo in the lead role as a CIA operative, was the top series on cable Tuesdays this summer among viewers 25-54, total viewers and households, was second only to NBC in all of television on Tuesdays at 10pm in the demo groups of 18-49, 25-54, total viewers and households, beating ABC and CBS in viewers 18-34.
