Burn Notice is the story of an ex-spy now private eye and his quest to find the people who turned his life upside down. Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) was in the middle of Africa, trying to negotiate with a gang member when he was given a burn notice (a spy term for "your services are no longer required"). After escaping from Africa, he finds himself in Miami with no money and no job. He’s able to make a living using his spy skills to assist others, while trying to figure out who issued the burn notice. Michael enlists the help of Sam (Bruce Campbell), an FBI agent who used to work with him, and Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), Michael’s gun-toting Irish ex-girlfriend.
Watching Burn Notice is a little like attending espionage school. As Michael explains the situation to the viewer, he lets us in on the trade secrets that make him a good spy. Using his knowledge and a few common items, Michael repeatedly saves the day. Each episode is action-packed, as he attempts to outsmart the bad guys.
Conversely, Chuck is the story of computer geek turned spy, but not of his own free will. On his birthday Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) opens an email from his college nemesis, and all government secrets are uploaded to his brain. Trying to go about his mundane life, he suddenly finds himself involved in harrowing situations, as a sinister organization attempts to obtain the secrets. The resulting activity causes the CIA and NSA to send agents to monitor Chuck. CIA agent Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) poses as his girlfriend. And Casey (Adam Baldwin), from the NSA, joins Chuck to work at the Buy More (think Best Buy) much to the stress of Morgan, Chuck’s best friend.
As opposed to Michael Weston, Chuck skips espionage school and is thrown right into the mix. He finds himself equipped with all of the spy secrets, but none of the technical know-how necessary to perform the job. He tries to go about his normal life, while hiding his new skills from friends and family. Complicating matters even further is that although Sarah is not really Chuck’s girlfriend, he begins to wish for a real relationship with her. In each episode we watch Chuck try to extricate himself from dangerous situations, armed only with limited knowledge and a lot of luck.