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TNT sets return date for Leverage

leverage_tntThis morning some good news leaked out sooner than expected, although I don't think it was that big a surprise to learn that TNT is bringing Leverage back on Wednesday, January 13 at 10 p.m. Surprise news or not, it's still great to know that we have fresh episodes coming in early 2010.

There are six episodes of Leverage left from season two, then the third season will commence in the summer. This set up is a lot like The Closer, and you know how well that split schedule has been working. By the way, you do know that split schedules is one of the things I'm most grateful about this holiday season, don't you?

Continue reading TNT sets return date for Leverage

Leverage hired for a third season on TNT

LeverageGood news for everyone who's ever been screwed by someone in power. Not so good news for everyone in power. TNT just picked up Leverage for a third season, and I couldn't be happier. In the first season, Leverage worked because of the cleverness of the heists the gang got up to. I found myself trying to figure out all the angles they were working, but by the end they still managed to trick me a couple of times.

The second season saw them lose their stately headquarters and tackle these jobs in a much more street level fashion, and in several ways the show got better. At the same time, rather than the heist always taking center stage, at times it was our five characters that shone brightest.

By that I'm referring to the quirks of their individual personalities, because we haven't gotten a great deal of character development this season. The banter and camaraderie within the crew gives us some great lines and moments each week, though. Now that a third season is secured, I'd like to see the character arcs for those great personalities pick up again.

TNT's giving us more Leverage

Nate_Leverage
While this off-network summer season has reached a fevered pitch after last with the return of Mad Men, not to be overlooked is that other cable shows have also been delivering the goods. Shows like Burn Notice and Leverage, for instance. Regarding Leverage, there's good news to report. TNT will air two extra Leverage episodes in the weeks ahead.

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Leverage season two -- An early look

The cast of TNT's Leverage
Watching an advance screening of the first episode of the second season of Leverage was a bit like seeing the Star Wars movies in numerical order. The small references make no sense and makes you feel like you're in a clubhouse that you haven't yet joined.

The second season, starting this Wednesday at 9 PM ET on TNT, makes me wish I had all control over time and space so I could follow along with everyone else during the first season. That and so I could make a lot of money by predicting the outcomes of high stakes horse races with an all-knowing sports almanac from the future.

Continue reading Leverage season two -- An early look

Timothy Hutton: The TV Squad Interview

Timothy Hutton stars as Nathan Ford on TNT's Leverage.Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton has had numerous chances to star in TV series during his successful career. It took the edgy blend of drama and humor in TNT's Leverage to lead him to sign on for the show's lead role.

Hutton stars as Nathan Ford, a former insurance investigator leading a team of thieves and con artists who balance the scales when ordinary people fall victim to corrupt politicians, authorities and corporations.

The show co-stars Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf and Aldis Hodge as Ford's less than reputable teammates.

As Leverage approaches its second season premiere July 15, Hutton connected with TV Squad to share his hopes for the show.

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Another Star Trek actor joins TNT's Leverage

jeri ryan in leverage tntBeing a nerd, I'm very familiar with Jeri Ryan's career. She helped make Star Trek: Voyager watchable for a while as a self-aware Borg and recently starred in CBS' Shark alongside James Woods. But it was her work on the David Kelley shows Boston Public and Boston Legal that has me thinking she'll be a good fit for Leverage.

The actress handled Kelley's sharp dialogue like a pro, and I'm guessing she'll bring the same confidence to her role as a "smart-ass, street-wise con woman" on the second season of Leverage. Ryan has signed on for a recurring role on the TNT heist drama. Her character will be a friend of Sophie's (Gina Bellman), Leverage's sexy grifter with a bag full of tricks and foreign accents.

Continue reading Another Star Trek actor joins TNT's Leverage

Timothy Hutton talks about Leverage's first season

Timothy Hutton as Nathan Ford in LeverageWhen I sit down to watch television, I want to be entertained. I do not want to be bored, annoyed, depressed or angry. Just give me some good, clean fun. That's why it's been an infinite pleasure watching TNT's new drama, Leverage, a show I have crowned the best new show this season.

I recently had the pleasure of talking with Timothy Hutton, star of Leverage, about the first season of the successful new drama. Oh yes, the charming Tim and I dished about his performance, his co-stars and what season two may bring.

One thing I learned is that the powers-that-be over at Leverage don't tell their actors a whole lot. After being enamored with season one, I was dying for a spoiler of what's to come next season, now that we know Leverage has been renewed (they start filming April 13, in fact). OK, I would have settled for a teaser, even a tidbit, but it seems they're still tossing most of that around in the writers' room. Here's what I did get:

Continue reading Timothy Hutton talks about Leverage's first season

Jonathan Frakes: The TV Squad Interview - VIDEO

jonathan frakes star trek leverageThere is life after Star Trek. Jonathan Frakes, Star Trek: The Next Generation's former "Number One," has moved on from sci-fi stardom to a successful career as a TV and film director. He's helmed four feature films, countless hours of Star Trek and Roswell, plus the two latest entries in TNT's Librarian telemovie franchise. Now, he's joining one of TV's most critically acclaimed new shows.

Frakes directed tonight's episode of Leverage, TNT's hit heist drama starring Timothy Hutton. The episode is a Star Trek reunion of sorts with Frakes behind the camera and his former Star Trek co-stars Brent Spiner (Data from TNG) and Armin Shimerman (Quark from Deep Space Nine) guest starring.

I spoke to Frakes by phone for a few minutes this week and, somehow, I was able to hold back from asking him a million geeky Star Trek questions. (Now I'll never know if "Tom" Riker ever escaped from the Cardassians!) We discussed his love for Leverage, his friendships with his former cast mates, and the possible return of "Number One" Will Riker.

Continue reading Jonathan Frakes: The TV Squad Interview - VIDEO

TNT renews Leverage for a second season

levarage tnt castWho would've thought The A-Team would work in 2009? OK, so Leverage is slicker, better scripted, and it features 89% less explosions than The A-Team, but the show's concept sure reminds me of Hannibal and B.A. Baracus' 1980s exploits as "soldiers of fortune."

TNT's freshman drama centers on a group of criminals turned Robin Hoods who pull off elaborate schemes to take down the dirty dogs of corporate America. So far, Leverage has earned decent ratings and high praise from critics (Squadder Debra McDuffee called it "the best new show this season."), and TNT is rewarding it by green lighting a second season.

Continue reading TNT renews Leverage for a second season

TV Squad Ten: Reasons Leverage is the best new show this season

the cast of TNT's Leverage
Have you seen TNT's new show, Leverage yet? It's been called a new age A-Team, but I see it more as a lighthearted combination of Ocean's 11, Alias, Burn Notice and even How I Met Your Mother.

In fact, I'm willing to go out on a limb and state in no uncertain terms that Leverage is the best new show to premiere this season. I would have given the title to The Mentalist previous to Leverage's premiere, but since then, it has continued to steal my heart a little more each week.

What makes Leverage the best new show this season? In no particular order ...

Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Reasons Leverage is the best new show this season

Leverage: The Home Coming Job

Leverage -
(S01E02)
"The world doesn't work this way." --Dr. Laroque
"Then change the world." --Nathan Ford

Oh, I really do like this show. It looks like the fine folks behind Leverage are going to use this platform to "expose" the kinds of corporate corruption that we all know are there but may just not be able to prove. As established over the past several years, a lot of these bastards at the top of the corporate world are just as bad, if not worse, than the common street criminal. In fact, I'm going to go with worse. Tonight's target: Castleman, a company that provides a private "army" to the U.S. Government. You know, Blackwater.

In keeping with the Robin Hood concept, the idea behind this heist is to ensure that PFC Dwight Caplan can get the rehab he needs to get out and start working. The kid's not looking for a handout, just a fare shake in life. And since it was Castleman, and not insurgent fire, who took that away from him, he's looking for justice. Which is what Leverage is all about.

Continue reading Leverage: The Home Coming Job

Leverage premiere scores five million viewers

leverage hutton premiere ratings kaneThe commercial-free premiere of TNT's new heist drama, Leverage, scored a hefty five million viewers last night. It didn't touch The Closer's insanely high numbers, but it'll do.

Leverage
delivered TNT's best ratings for the 18-49 demo for an original series aired during a regular broadcast season. That means we'll probably see a lot more of Timothy Hutton and crew gracing our tubes in 2009. Fans of good TV everywhere should be celebrating.

I mostly tuned into Leverage to see Christian Kane, who I loved as the scheming Lindsey McDonald on Joss Whedon's Angel. Kane plays Eliot Spencer on Leverage, a dude who could make Jason Bourne cry "uncle!" with his amazing hand-to-hand combat skills. Kane was only one of the things I liked about this show. The entire cast was great, especially Hutton, and the whole A-Team meets Ocean's 11 thing really worked for me.

Continue reading Leverage premiere scores five million viewers

Leverage: The Nigerian Job (series premiere)

Leverage Cast
(S01E01)
Now that's what good television is all about. This slickly produced show managed to keep things light and fun in the world of high-stakes criminal espionage. It makes sense since executive producer Dean Devlin directed the pilot and slick and fancy is what he's all about. Certainly Independence Day got by on its look and feel rather than any great plotlines or dialogue. Devlin's production company has also been behind the very successful The Librarian series of films for TNT which are also very high on style.

Continue reading Leverage: The Nigerian Job (series premiere)

It's official: Kidnapped to be released April 24

Kidnapped

We've had a couple of stories here about the possibility of a Kidnapped DVD set in '07, and today Sony made it official. The Complete Series will be released on April 24. That's 13 episodes. No word on extras yet.

I actually liked this show, from the handful of episodes that NBC showed before dumping it on Saturday nights and then pulling it from the schedule altogether. But you know what? When the show went online only, I didn't even watch the remaining episodes. I'm not sure why. I was interested in the plot and what the outcome was going to be, but I just never took the time to watch the rest. Of course, I'm not sure I want to buy the show on DVD either, so maybe I'll watch them online after all (if they're still available, that is).

Update: Kidnapped headed to web

Kidnapped
Anna told you earlier today about NBC pulling Kidnapped off of the Saturday schedule (wow, how bad do ratings have to be to have that happen twice in a matter of weeks?), and now comes word over at TV Guide that the remaining eight episodes of the drama will be shown on NBC's web site.

The show is being pulled and will not be seen again on the small screen after sweeps (we're at the start of the all-important sweeps period right now), but will be shown on your even smaller screen, your computer.

The show is filming its 13th episode even as you read this. Oh well. At least fans won't have to wait and see what's going to happen to the show and will be able to see the kidnapping plot reach its conclusion and not left hanging.

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