Alias creator J.J. Abrams is returning to the spy genre with Undercovers, a new NBC comedy-drama starring Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as married couple Steven and Samantha Bloom. When an old colleague goes missing, the retired pair are forced to return to the spy game to save him. We caught up with Boris and Gugu to chat about working with J.J. and balancing romantic banter with kung-fu action.

What is the balance like on the show between comedy and drama?
Boris: “It's 73% drama and 28% comedy!”
Gugu: “It's a really wonderful combination, because we have this relationship at the core of the story. There's the romantic elements and there's also the action. We're getting to kick a lot of butt but there's also the comedy side of it as well, just because of the banter [between us]. We had this wonderful script bestowed on us by J.J. Abrams and Josh Reims.”
Boris: “You've got the romance and a lot of action and drama. For an actor, it's great because you get to play so many different things on a daily basis, so it's very exciting.”

How does the show balance the spy aspect of the series with your characters' personal lives?
Boris: “It's a great mixture, because we're dealing with a relationship here between married people who are trying to maintain their love. That's challenging enough as it is. You add the spy element to it and it becomes even more challenging. It's fun for the audience to see us go through our regular, everyday marriage obstacles and banter as we travel the world and try to fight evil. It adds an element of escapism to real-life drama, which is a very interesting balance.”
Gugu: “When they were in the CIA, they made a pact that they wouldn't discuss any of their missions with each other, so initially their domestic life and their spy life are very separate. As we go along the lines gradually become blurred. They become not just a married couple, but also partners in a work sense. They're quite competitive and they also have various secrets that are revealed as we go along.”

How were you cast on the show? Did you audition opposite each other?
Boris: “It was actually a contest and we were the lucky winners!”
Gugu: “I auditioned from New York because I was doing a play on Broadway at the time. My tape got sent off to LA, then I got flown there to audition, which is where I met Boris. We auditioned together and that's how we first got to know each other.”

How much training did you have to do for the action sequences, and did you enjoy filming those scenes?
Boris: “A lot of training! We started 8 months ago. J.J. really wanted to make us into fighters, because he wanted us to be flexible when we were shooting scenes. Depending on the country and the fighting art-form, we had to be ready. We've been training for a while now. It was quite challenging at first but we're getting better and better at it. Especially Gugu – she does all of those action sequences in five-inch heels, which is not easy! What really is amazing is that we get to play these characters day-in, day-out, and they're so multi-faceted. We get to do different things every day.”

Does working with J.J. Abrams make you more confident that the show will be a success?
Gugu: “You can never be complacent about these things, but J.J. is so inspiring. He's got such a terrific imagination and energy and creativity. He's worked in the spy genre before, but he's pushing new boundaries for himself. You can't be complacent. Hopefully people will like the show, but we're having a lot of fun.”
Boris: “It's going to be interesting to see, because most people know J.J. from a specific sort of genre, and this is completely different. Hopefully viewers will embrace it, regardless of the fact that it's not something they're used to him doing.”

Do you feel any pressure for the show to match the success of J.J.'s other projects?
Boris: “It's more excitement than it is pressure. We've been doing this for a while now and we're still entrenched in our work. We can't wait for the world to finally see what we've been up to. It's been so much work, but it's been so excellent and so much fun. Everybody's worked so hard for so long that we cannot wait for an audience to see it and give us feedback.”

Undercovers begins on Wednesday at 8/7c on NBC.