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Extract: Interview with Yancy Butler and John Glover about new TV series South Beach.

KATHERINE COURIC, co-host:  The South Beach area of Miami is the setting for a new action adventure series premiering Sunday night right here on NBC. Yancy Butler stars in the role of the con woman, and John Glover, who just might be the busiest character actor on TV, plays the Fed.

Good morning. Who--OK, the con woman and the Fed. Yancy, you get the job of explaining what this is all about. Lucky you.

Ms. YANCY BUTLER: OK. This is basically a story--my character is an ex-con who through her brother gets hooked up with John Glover's character, and I start working for him through various smugglings and, you know, diamond heists and stuff like that.

COURIC: Someone described it to me as sort of a modern day "Avengers." Would that be appealing to you? Get it? Emma Peale, appealing--that sort of worked out that way. Is your character--John, I'll give you a chance to talk in a minute.

Mr. JOHN GLOVER: No, no, no.

COURIC: But is your character--is your character somewhat like Emma Peale, you think?

Ms. BUTLER: I'm not quite sure, actually.

COURIC: You're probably too young to remember "The Avengers," aren't you?

Ms. YANCY: Maybe. Maybe. I do remember "The Avengers," but I--I don't know. It's different. Let's put it that way.

COURIC: You play Roberts. Tell me about him.

Mr. GLOVER: He's a

COURIC: Is he a good guy, bad guy? What?

Mr. GLOVER: He's a guy who's cold and heartless on the side of good, I guess. He's like one of those teachers that we had in high school that we were terrified of that we always performed better for, that we'd hate to go to class, but--but once we got there, we did much better work because he'd play--I play with people. I--I take and do things to mess them up so they'll perform better.

COURIC: And deep down inside you have a heart of gold? Is that what you're trying to tell me, John?

Mr. GLOVER: A heart of gold. Yeah, but a master criminal. Yeah, yeah.

COURIC: We've got a scene from the show we're going to take a look at. This is from the premiere of Sunday night's South Beach. This sets up the relationship between the two characters. Let's take a look.

(Clip from South Beach shown)

COURIC: Oh, cold. So this isn't the beginning of a beautiful friendship, or is it?

Mr. GLOVER: Yeah. But, you know, you have this problem.

COURIC: A little sexual tension there?

Mr. GLOVER: With Yance?

Ms. BUTLER: I think there's this great admiration that we have for each other's minds, and this is--definitely marks the beginning of it because it is like a high school teacher that you used to, you know, try to go that extra step to please. But we're always toying with each other that way. It's a nice relationship.

COURIC: South Beach must be a great--this is all filmed on location in South Beach, which is an art deco area of Miami that's been revitalized. Is that a lot of fun just being in that environment?

Ms. BUTLER: It is fun. It's beautiful. It's very beautiful.

COURIC: Do you think that--I know there are going to be comparisons between this show and Miami Vice.

Mr. GLOVER: Yeah, we solve a crime every week. It is shot in my Miami, but she's a girl, and I don't carry a gun and wear dark clothes, so there you go.

COURIC: What--are you con--concerned or worried? I know that you were in a--in a show, Yancy, Man and Machine, that--that didn't work out.

Ms. BUTLER: Right.

COURIC: And--and right now they're doing a movie on Sunday, and then they'll what, have six weeks' worth of shows?

Ms. BUTLER: Six episodes, yes.

COURIC: Six episodes. So this is a test? Is that what this is?

Mr. GLOVER: Stay tuned.

Ms. BUTLER: Yeah. Well put.

COURIC: Is that nerve-racking though?

Mr. GLOVER: Yeah, you bet. Sure.

COURIC: Just--I guess you're just waiting to see if it's going to get picked up?

Mr. GLOVER: Yeah, yeah.

Ms. BUTLER: I think it's just the nature of--yeah, it is a little nerve-racking. But you know, you think of--you look at the work, and we certainly had a good time, and

COURIC: Just see what happens.

Ms. BUTLER: And that's what is important.

COURIC: John, you've done a lot of stage work, and oftentimes you do play the sort of villainous character. Why do you think that

Mr. GLOVER: Well, I was going to ask you, why you think that is?

COURIC: I don't know.

Mr. GLOVER: I'm a nice guy. What is that?

COURIC: You tell me. Do you think people think you look kind of mean, maybe?

Mr. GLOVER: I don't know. I got this vein that comes up in the middle of my forehead. Maybe that does it.

COURIC: Think that's it? It's the vein.

Ms. BUTLER: You do.

Mr. GLOVER: Is it up now? Yeah, it is. See?

COURIC: And, Yancy, before we go, I want to mention that your dad was the drummer for the Loving Spoonful, right?

Ms. BUTLER: Yes, he was. And he also

COURIC: So did you always want to--I'm sorry, and he did what?

Ms. BUTLER: No, and he also sings. He's a performer.

COURIC: Did you always want to go into this line of work?

Ms. BUTLER: I think I always studied to. I certainly prepared to do other things. But yeah, I always did, and my mother works in the theater, so it's that kind of background.

COURIC: Well, great. Well, the--the new show is called South Beach. It premieres this Sunday on NBC. I wish you both a lot of luck, Yancy and John.

Ms. BUTLER: Great. Thank you very much.

COURIC: Great to meet you.

Ms. BUTLER: Great to meet you.

COURIC: Wasn't that easy?

Ms. BUTLER: Yes, it was.

COURIC: We're back in a moment with more on TODAY right after this.