Interesting look at the use of voice over’s in In Plain Sight.

But the voice-over functions like an MRI of Shannon’s soul. We get to see what’s really in there, layer by wounded layer; it’s the tucked-away part that she takes such pains to hide. She was hurt a long time ago by her family, and the hurt never healed. The bitter bravado isn’t arrogance or indifference; it’s protection. But people like Shannon don’t spill their guts to friends. Without the voice-over, we wouldn’t know the real story about the deadbeat dad who broke her heart. We’d just think she was a jerk.

Shout Out to Voice Overs

Mary just tweeted about the new fundraiser and cause that her father had been a part of, and now she is!

The screencaptures for the latest episode can now be found in the gallery.

Just a heads up, Mary is going to be on Chelsea Lately tomorrow night on E! We’ll have the clip up tomorrow night as well.

The In Plain Sight Fan Gallery is updated with promo photos for the last 2 episodes of this season.

Mary McCormack, Nichole Hiltz and Paul ben Victor attended the In Plain Sight Q&A this week in Los Angeles, and the photos are up in the In Plain Sight Fan Gallery.

Only 2 more episodes left!

The Writers Guild has a new piece up looking at the different writers of USA network shows, including a look at In Plain Sight.

IN PLAIN SIGHT: Created by David Maples

Mary Shannon (played by Mary McCormack) is a Federal Marshall with the Witness Protection program (WITSEC). She conceals the high-risk, high-impact job from her co-dependent mother and sister.

Maples originally conceived In Plain Sight in 2004 for the UPN network as part of a blind script deal. The UPN mandate was to write something with a strong female lead, so he began making lists of interesting jobs and professions. In a 2008 interview with Fanbolt.com, Maples explained, “As I started thinking about it, there’s almost nothing these days certainly that you professionally can’t put a female lead in and have her performing at the highest level. So I honestly can’t tell you how I landed on this. It was the gamut of job possibilities—doctor, lawyer, real estate agent, anything you can think of, cop, whatever, I had [written a list] on this piece of paper.”

His protagonist deals with people’s personal problems really well, but has a total lack of ability at dealing with her own. He made this a strong component in almost every episode. In a 2009 interview he stated, “There’s some element of Mary’s personal life confounding her. And we try to tie those two story lines together somewhat thematically between the witness story and their problem, and Mary’s personal problem, and the problem of her family and the other people in her life.”

Maples left the series after the second season and John McNamara, a well-seasoned television veteran with numerous credits, was brought in to run the show. McNamara has followed Maples original vision except to “dial it up and keep it real.”

McNamara is new to the USA Network and describes the executives as “true creative partners.” He appreciates the fact that the network does not have a heavy managerial style, but knows what it wants.

The show also has a retired Federal Marshall on hand as a consultant, and McNamara and the five other writers on the staff frequently check in with him to check for accuracy.

When asked what advice he would give fellow writers who hope to sell a series to USA, McNamara replied, “Character, character, character. Everything starts with a character who has a completely unique perspective on the world, and whose voice is unique to that show. They would probably never buy just a straight procedural. That’s not their brand. So you need very well-wrought plots that are driven by very well defined, specific characters.”

Meet the writers of USA Network

Ted from USA Network just tweeted this!

Great news 4 great #InPlainSight ep last night Ratings hit season highs w/ double digit % growth in total viewers + key demos vs. last week!

The screencaptures for 3×11 “The Born Identity” have now been added to the gallery.