Greg In Hollywood chats with Christopher Gorham about his new hit series “Covert Affairs”

If you aren’t already hooked on USA’s new action-drama Covert Affairs,  a new episode airs tonight at 10 p.m. right after White Collar.

The show has a terrific cast and in a key role is Christopher Gorham who plays CIA military intelligence/special ops officer Auggie Anderson who was blinded while on a mission in Iraq.

He guides CIA trainee Annie (Piper Perabo) through the paces at her new job and the pair soon have each other’s back.

I spoke with Chris a few nights ago during the NBC-Universal party at the TV Critics Assn. Summer Press Tour.

Q. What’s it like playing a guy who can’t see?
A. It’s really challenging and a lot of fun.

Q. Have you gotten any feedback from any of the blind groups?
A.The organization I’ve been working with in Toronto called the Canadian National Institute for the Blind has been out to set and they’ve seen a couple of episodes and gave me two thumbs up. They were thrilled. If they’re happy, I’m happy.

Q. How is shooting in Toronto going?
A. My wife and [three] kids are with me right now, it’s summer and there’s no school so everyone is with me.

Q. How does Covert Affairs compare to some of your past series?
A. It’s bigger than any other show that I’ve done. The action in this show is bigger than anything that I’ve been involved with … [They’re] constantly telling the writers to just go crazy, write whatever you can imagine and we’ll figure out a way to shoot it. That’s been really exciting. Episode seven is a big Auggie episode where Auggie goes out into the field on a mission and gets to participate in some of the action.

Q. I just want Auggie to be able to see!
A. You know, the cool thing about it is that Auggie is not in that place, there’s not an ounce of self-pity. He’s moved past that and has turned it to his advantage which is a really great thing to see. But at the same time, he’s a human being and even in his great episode, we see the limitations that he has. It’s the reality of what it’s like to live with the reality of not being able to see.

Q. You and Piper Perabo have such great chemistry, you can’t fake that. I just love the humor you two share.
A. It’s important, it’s a hallmark of the USA Network as a whole. It helps the levity of things, keeping things from being so serious. The nice thing about a show like ours, airing at 10 p.m., you get to the end of it and you don’t feel like you have to go see a therapist. It’s a fun ride, it has interesting characters, great action, you come to the end of a story and have solved whatever that case is and if you’re the kind of person who likes to watch every single episode, we have great seasonal arcs that you can follow.