USA Launches THE NICO FILES, A NECESSARY ROUGHNESS Web Series

USA Network today launched THE NICO FILES, a seven-week webisode franchise tied to the hit original series NECESSARY ROUGHNESS. Fans will be able to go beyond the on-air story to peer into the role of Nico Careles (Scott Cohen), the enigmatic Hawks' employee with a job description that seems as vague as his background.

Each week they’ll interact with customized videos, created by the show’s writing team and overseen by executive producers Liz Krueger, Jeff Lieber and Craig Shapiro. Viewers will open a window into the story behind the hard decisions that Nico makes and no one else on the team can.

Each night after the east coast airing of the episode, fans can enter Nico’s murky world at thenicofiles.usanetwork.com, starting on Wednesday, June 27, right after that night’s episode at 10/9c.

“We chose to focus on this secretive Hawks' employee as it gives us a way to go beyond the hour-long broadcast creating the back-story of a character who seems to reside on the periphery, but has a big impact on the overall story,” said Alexandra Shapiro, executive vice president, marketing & digital, USA. “We partnered with Lincoln both on-air and online to seamlessly integrate the new MKS sedan, which Nico uses as his base of operations.”

THE NICO FILES will run for the seven weeks during which Nico will interact with other fan favorites including Coach Parnell (Gregory Alan Williams), Matt Donnally (Marc Blucas), and New York Hawk’s bad boy wide receiver TK (Mehcad Brooks). As viewers watch Nico in action, they’ll learn more about who he is, and some of his tricks of the trade. During the experience, Necessary Roughness viewers can access “Gut Checks," which challenges them to assess their ability to read a difficult situation as it unfolds. After the user answers one of his questions, Nico gives immediate feedback, revealing whether or not that response was in sync with his thinking.

“Lincoln is pleased to partner with USA Network on The Nico Files,” said Jim Peters, Lincoln manager of Brand Content and Alliances. “USA’s digital initiatives give us the opportunity to showcase the newly refined Lincoln MKS sedan in a compelling way that compliments the Necessary Roughness on-air integration.”

USA Network created THE NICO FILES in conjunction with Sony Pictures Television and BPG. In addition to playing the starring role, Cohen also directed the fifth webisode.