TNT
Leverage brings the heist movie genre to the small screen. Each episode, the team of Leverage Consulting & Associates takes down a fat cat or crime lord that has hurt one of their clients. Whether it’s a high-stakes grift or an elaborate theft, this cadre of ex-cons rights wrongs, Robin Hood-style.
Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton) is a former insurance fraud investigator. He gets drafted into an elaborate con with thief Parker (Beth Riesgraf), hacker Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge), former black ops agent Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), and his ex, an experienced grifter, Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman). They decide to combine their unique set of skills on the right side of the law to help the helpless: to provide them with some leverage…get it?
The show takes all the twists, turns, and shocking misdirects from movies like Ocean’s Eleven or The Italian Job and takes it to a local level. It’s insane that the series is able to come up with so many smart reveals and elaborate capers for each episode.
If great writing isn’t enough, the casting of the series is genius. The characters are more than just their heist skills. Each character brings a different layer to their character. Hutton may play the moral voice of the show but he also has a drinking problem and a self-destructive impulse. Riesgraf and Hodge may play expert thieves but they also have a dorky vibe. The British-born Bellman showcases all of her accents and unique vocal tricks as she plays a grifter playing a character during a con.
Movies like Oceans Fifteen: Still Wet, are fun to watch for the satisfaction of a well-played con. Leverage provides all that satisfaction combined with likable characters and unique writing.
Netflix has all five seasons of the series, which ended last winter.
