When Covert Affairs season 4 premieres on Tuesday, July 16, Annie (Piper Perabo) and Auggie (Christopher Gorham) will be heading to Colombia on an unsanctioned mission. While on this rogue undertaking, they meet a mysterious man, Teo Braga, played by the gorgeous and talented Colombian actor, Manolo Cardona. His addition to the show brings intrigue and a freshness to the series. The first and third episodes were filmed on location in Medellin, Colombia.
Last month, I went to Toronto to visit the Covert Affairs set and interview the cast. One of the highlights was hearing Perabo discuss the process of filming in Colombia, their plans to give back to the Medellin community that welcomed them, and the addition of Cardona to the cast.
When they were filming in Comuna 13, the residents were thrilled to have the production in town. In a scene for episode 3, a local kid rides his bicycle through the neighborhoods carrying a secret package.
Perabo recounted how the community embraced them. The tiles in front of their homes were “scrubbed — I mean you could’ve eaten your breakfast off them and … people were taking down their laundry as fast as they could as soon as they realized the cameras were gonna come by and it was really-it was really exciting.”
The Colombians also watched the filming which became problematic at a point, but the community took great care to remedy the enthusiastic response. Piper explained, “It was holy week so the kids were coming out and watching and after the first take they would applaud and then we were like you can’t applaud because we’re filming and so then the teenagers were like okay we’ll be in charge of saying nobody can applaud.”
“It was just this incredible community,” said Perabo. She wanted to give back to them for being such gracious hosts. One of the producers that they worked with in Colombia had a not-for-profit organization called Wandering Cinema which shows movies on a portable screen in areas without movie theaters.
Perabo wanted to screen the episodes that were shot in Comuna 13 for them. She got on the phone and made it happen, “I called USA. I actually called, president of USA, Jeff and I was like ‘you need a base tan don’t you? Let’s go to Columbia and let’s do a screening for them.’ And, so we organized this screening to show episodes one and three.”
The screening took place last weekend in Comuna 13, Medellin, Colombia. Below is pictured from left side to right: Valeria Santos – wife of Manolo Cardona, Manolo Cardona, Piper Perabo, Laura Silva Roldán (with Wandering Cinema)
The residents of Comuna 13 got a sneak peek at the premiere before it even aired in the United States. Here’s a little insight into what happens on the show in Colombia and about the new character, Teo.
Annie and Auggie are secretly in Colombia when their paths cross with Teo. At first, they don’t know much about him, but their meeting is no coincidence. It’s the beginning of a … unique relationship.
Cardona described Teo as “a tough guy” and “passive aggressive inside … a very, very good character.” He lost his mother at an early age and hasn’t had a father figure to help guide him. Cardona continued, “He’s a lonely guy working some mission that he has.”
The Covert Affairs premiere is an intense hour that will set up the season for a non-stop action-packed ride. And, Teo is at the heart of the story.
Covert Affairs season 4 premieres Tuesday, July 16 at 9 pm ET on USA,
