USA NETWORK GIVES ORDERS FOR OFFICIAL SEASON TWO PICK-UP OF CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED HIT ORIGINAL "COVERT AFFAIRS"

Series stars Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Peter Gallagher, Kari Matchett and Anne Dudek

A Universal Cable Production

LOS ANGELES, CA - August 19, 2010 - Approaching its fifth consecutive summer win, while pacing to take the third quarter, USA Network today announced that it has picked up season two of the original series COVERT AFFAIRS starring Piper Perabo ("Coyote Ugly," "Beverly Hills Chihuahua"), Christopher Gorham ("Ugly Betty," "Jake 2.0"), Sendhil Ramamurthy ("Heroes," "It's a Wonderful Afterlife"), Peter Gallagher ("The O.C.," "American Beauty"), Kari Matchett ("Invasion") and Anne Dudek ("House," "Mad Men"). COVERT AFFAIRS currently airs as the #1 cable show on Tuesdays at 10/9c and is shot on location in Toronto. The announcement was made today by Jeff Wachtel, president, original programming, USA Network, and co-head, original content, Universal Cable Productions.

COVERT AFFAIRS is the #1 new series of the year (to date) among P18-49 (2.52 million), and garnered the largest P18-49 audience of any series launch this year (to date) (2.76 million). The show hit series highs (Live+Same basis) this week with 2.34 million in P18-49, 2.4 million in P25-54 and 5.4 million total viewers. When USA aired COVERT AFFAIRS Tuesdays at 10P this summer, the network was second only to NBC in delivering P18-49, P25-54 and total viewers while outperforming ABC and CBS among P18-34.

In COVERT AFFAIRS, Annie Walker (Perabo) is a young CIA trainee who is suddenly thrust into the inner sanctum of the agency after being promoted to field operative. While it appears that she has been hand-picked for her exceptional linguistic skills, it may be something from her past that her CIA bosses are really after. Gorham plays Auggie Anderson, a CIA military intelligence agent, blinded while on assignment and Annie's guide in this world of bureaucracy, excitement and intrigue; Gallagher plays Arthur, the formidable Director of Clandestine Services for the CIA; Dudek plays a married mother of two and is and Annie's older sister; Matchett plays Joan, head of the CIA's Domestic Protection Division who happens to be married to Arthur; and Ramamurthy plays Jai Wilcox, an agent with a rich family history within the walls of the CIA.

From Universal Cable Productions, COVERT AFFAIRS is executive produced by Doug Liman (the "Bourne" trilogy, "Heist") and Dave Bartis ("The O.C.") through Dutch Oven and written and co-executive produced by Matt Corman ("Deck the Halls") and Chris Ord ("Deck the Halls"). James Parriott serves as executive producer with Jonathan Glassner as co-executive producer.

USA Network is the #1 network in all of basic cable and is seen in over 98.5 million U.S. homes. A division of NBC Universal, USA is the cable television leader in original series and home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, acquired television series and entertainment events. The award-winning USA website is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.

USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.