Actor Michael Ealy is seen in this undated handout photo. Even as he's steadily grown a successful career, actor Michael Ealy has always been something of a TV tourist. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ USA Network - Robert Ascroft

TORONTO - Even as he's steadily grown a successful career, actor Michael Ealy has always been something of a TV tourist.

He visits shows — including recent recurring turns on such high-profile fare as "The Good Wife" and "Californication" — but doesn't put down roots. Even when the 38-year-old has landed longer-term roles, the shows haven't lasted long — for instance, "FlashForward" and the Showtime drama "Sleeper Cell" managed to eke out a combined 40 episodes.

So the Maryland native has a simple goal for his new series "Common Law," one that doesn't sound particularly lofty — until you consider his previous experiences in television.

"I'd like it to go more than two seasons," Ealy said in a recent telephone interview. "I haven't gone more than two seasons. I need that kind of leeway — I need that kind of time to really get into it.

"The first season of a show's always a rollercoaster because nobody knows what they're doing," he added. "You gotta rush through the season trying to figure out: What is this show? And who are these characters? And I think we had a really good first season considering we really didn't know. We didn't.

"The Travis I discovered at the end of the season is not exactly the same Travis I had envisioned in the pilot."

With that in mind, Canadian audiences can now buckle up and prepare to experience that same ride for themselves.

While the inaugural season of the buddy-cop action-comedy has already aired Stateside, the pilot premieres this Sunday on Showcase.

Ealy and Warren Kole ("24") co-star as a pair of hotshot Los Angeles detectives whose contentious relationship is the result of years of heavy relationship baggage. It seems the dysfunctional duo does as much bickering as booking, but since the partners are more effective together than apart, they submit to couples therapy to try to smooth their issues while continuing to collar criminals each week.

Like most of the hits churned out by the USA Network (including the likes of "Psych," "Burn Notice" and "White Collar,") "Common Law" is a breezy affair, and Ealy wanted to mimic the freewheeling fun of classic '80s buddy-cop flicks, citing "Lethal Weapon," "48 Hours," "Beverly Hills Cop" and even "Bad Boys."

He says he modelled his character after Axel Foley and John McClane of "Die Hard."

Yet to hear him tell it, making TV seem effortless is hard, hard work.

"I played an FBI agent who went undercover infiltrating terrorists (on 'Sleeper Cell'), which I thought was the most taxing job I could ever have — until I got 'Common Law,'" he said.

"It's because of the comedy. You have to have energy at hour 13, at hour 14, at hour 15 — comedy cannot be tired, cannot be lazy. You have to be ready to go, you have to have energy.

"So at the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is — well, anything. I just want to sleep. I crash out hard every day at 'Common Law.'

"I definitely lost a couple years of my life just on the fatigue factor on the first season," he added. "I am enjoying my downtime right now."

Also like its cousins on the USA network, the success of "Common Law" hinged on the chemistry between its leads. In the show, bullets and banter fly in equal measure and the group therapy sessions — which Ealy says become a more integral part of the show as it continues — revel in the pair's similarity to a real couple.

As a result, the show's central relationship was quickly branded with the "bromance" tag. Ealy doesn't mind the term, but he doesn't think it necessarily applies here.

"As the season progresses, I think people will start to step away from 'bromance' and start to lean more towards 'brothers,'" he said.

"It's more about that they're family, whether they admit it or not. I can understand that as well because listen, Warren and I spend 16-17 hours a day together. You become family. Like, 'Hey man, I'm tired, listen, do me a favour, just take over this scene. I don't have it this morning.'

"It gets like that. You gotta pick each other up like family, and you fight like family. You only fight when you care."

Beyond "Common Law," it's been a big year for Ealy after he starred in the surprise hit "Think Like a Man," which reeled in roughly $92 million in the U.S. and Canada but cost a mere $12 million to make.

Where Ealy was once best-known for dramatic roles, he says he made a conscious decision two years ago to "diversify his portfolio," and this string of comedies — in addition to the sci-fi flick "Underworld: Awakening" — are the result of that initiative.

And, in that precious little free time he gets away from the set of "Common Law," he's already noticed a difference.

"(I'm) much more recognizable, no matter where you go, people are fans," he says. "And this is where it gets interesting, to be honest with you: People have become nicer to me. I don't know what it is.

"When I was on 'The Good Wife,' people would be like: 'You're mean!'" he added with a laugh, referencing his role as a manipulative lawyer with a mysterious past on the Chicago-set legal drama.

"I think there's a difference between making a feel-good movie like 'Think Like a Man' and a feel-good show like 'Common Law.' It's not too heavy, it's not too serious. You just walk away with a smile on your face. I think that makes people somewhat more endearing to you.

"It's been weird. People are just nicer."

News from © The Canadian Press, 2012