The rich and powerful, they take what they want. We steal it back for you. Sometimes bad guys make the best good guys. We provide… Leverage.
Leverage original series executive producer and director Dean Devlin has credited a loyal fan base to bringing the team at Leverage Consulting & Associates back after its five-season run from 2008 to 2012. The new series–call it a reboot, a continuation, a sequel, or just a new season–filmed as Leverage 2 and Leverage 2.0 and now titled Leverage: Redemption, will catch up with most of the original lead characters eight years after the series finale, “The Long Good-bye Job.” We previewed the new series last year here at borg, as the series tried to get underway in the face of a pandemic. The production made it, creating 13 episodes, and now we have the first trailer for the show.
Check it out:
Leverage became a television staple in the crime show genre, right along with Law & Order, Castle, and Without a Trace, a show you could always drop in on. More of a romp like Castle, less drama than Without a Trace, the key was the fun–the ride, the thrill of the path to the end, and the twisty path the players would take this time, even if the end itself (like the revenge on a fraudster, or giving a heartless CEO his comeuppance) got a quick wrap-up. Originally led by Oscar-winning actor Timothy Hutton, who isn’t returning as a lead cast member, the series follows a group of criminals switching sides from committing crimes to using their skills to do good.
Back are series stars Gina Bellman as Sophie the grifter, Christian Kane as Eliot the muscle (“hitter”), Aldis Hodge as Hardison the techie hacker, and Beth Riesgraf as the crazy, crazy thief Parker. Noah Wyle, star of The Librarians, will be crossing over into the Leverage world as Harry Sullivan, a corporate lawyer “looking for redemption after realizing he’d been sitting on the wrong side of the table for his entire career,” joining newcomer Aleyse Shannon, who will play Breanna, an adopted sister to Hardison. Original series episode director Jonathan Frakes is back as one of the episode directors, Noah Wyle is directing two episodes, Dean Devlin is directing at least three episodes, and Beth Riesgraf has her directorial debut in the new season/show.
Guest stars include Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s James Marsters as a con man, French Stewart was on-set so he may have a role, as was LeVar Burton. Hodge, who is co-starring on the series City on a Hill, will have a smaller role than in past seasons of the show. In her social media posts Gina Bellman has promised a lot of Easter eggs lie ahead for fans in the series.
Dean Devlin, John Rogers, and Chris Downey, who brought audiences both The Librarians and Leverage, will be back to take Leverage forward with Devlin as executive producer and Rogers and Downey as consulting producers. Don’t look for the series on TNT–it’s being created for IMDb TV, Amazon Studios’ free streaming service known for things like airing all the episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for free.
Look for Leverage: Redemption coming July 9, 2021, to IMDb TV.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
