TV Series Lounge

This is a great news for Leverage fanatics!

The Timothy Hutton-led drama will return for an entirely new season next summer! The series averages 4.8 million viewers per week.

“While many shows decline in their second, third or fourth seasons, Leverage has defied the odds and continued to climb,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “More and more viewers are discovering this weekly joy ride through wonderfully complex schemes and con games, all brought to life through smart writing, sharp directing and a terrific cast.”

What are your expectations for season 5?

You can check Leverage Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

This is why I love Leverage! Episode 6 titled “The Carnival Job” showed us how Nate and the team work at their best when a young girl is in the middle of the gig.

Talk about an Eliot episode. While there was some great interaction between Hardison and Parker, we’ve not seen as much ass-kicking being done by (and to) Eliot in a single hour in a long time.

Was it just me or did anyone else adore the relationship that Eliot formed with Molly and how protective he felt of her?

We’ve seen Eliot’s softer side before, but this time it was more paternal or big brotherly. It makes me think that Eliot might make a good father; a scary and deadly father, but good nonetheless.

It was also interesting how the team didn’t hate the target of the con going into the job, which made it a bit easier to flip over to helping him when Molly was kidnapped. Sadly, it was not hard to figure out the master-mind behind it.

Apparently the “Russian nanny plant” has been used enough that the when she was mentioned, even before the kidnapping, my wife and I looked at each other and said, “She is in on it.”

My favorite scene was the dramatic team entrance into the park with all five of them dramatically walking through the smoke. Don’t get me wrong, the “ridiculously needless factor” was pegged off the chart, but it still made for a awesomely heroic entrance!

Does anyone remember the team dropping one job in the middle to help a mark before? I know they have shifted gears, changed targets, and even chanced cons in the middle. But I don’t remember them going from conning someone to helping someone right in the middle.

The only part of this episode that felt completely out of place was the whole ASCD (automated safe-cracking device) storyline.

Why would Hardison leave something that complicated for Parker to find without explaining what it was first? What prompted him to feel she needed an automated assistant? The whole thing reeked of silly slapstick humor; all we needed was the ASCD to make little sad noises when Parker rejected it.

Part of what makes Leverage so much fun is that each character is the best as what they do. Watching Parker fumble with a safe she should have known by heart, and then reluctantly letting the ASCD do it, was a cheap laugh. Come on, Mr. Devlin, your team is better than that, we all know it.

Definitely, this is a fun and satisfying episode of Leverage!

You can check Leverage Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

We’ve seen this before and the team is known from this: running a con to save the innocent. That’s what episode 5 “The Hot Potato Job” is all about.

TV Fanatic: With the episode featuring a “super tuber,” I had expected the hour to be full of spud humor. Instead, we got a well planned and executed mission that could have had the team going after a diamond, gold, or cash.

Who wants to start a pool on how long it will take Nate to realize he has truly fallen for Sophie? While he may say he doesn’t want a relationship, it was pretty obvious that he likes being “friends with extras” (as Sophie put it).

For the Eliot fans out there, did you think Sophie did a good job of mimicking his behavior, voice, and mannerisms? I loved it! From the use of “sir” and “ma’am” to lowering her voice and being a bit gruffer, I giggled every time.

I also adored Parker helping Hardison learn to pick-pocket. Given how Sophie has taught her to con, and Hardison learned the hard way that Eliot has been teaching Sophie how to be a hitter; it was nice to see Hardison expanding his skills outside the tech arena.

Of course, that didn’t stop Hardison from taking on an apprentice in the form of Trevor, the young boy who Nate pegged right away as a trouble-maker. While I doubt we will see Trevor again, I have to wonder if Hardison and Nate didn’t just put someone on the path that will lead back to doing what they do.

I am very curious about the final scene where we learned that Janet West was CEO of Verd Agra now. Clearly, we are going to see her again, but in what aspect? Did the team leave a trail? Is she going to come after them? Will she go after Emily’s super spud again?

Any question in mind? What do you think of episode 5 of Leverage season 4?

You can check Leverage Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

I love it when Leverage deals with lost painting. That’s why I enjoyed episode 4 titled “The Van Gogh Job” is one of the best episodes for me. Also, we had some fun and heartwarming events, so a total episode indeed!

TV Fanatic: The episode was a break from the norm, as the squad really didn’t have to pull a huge con in order to service the client. Nor were we treated to a typical “whodunit.” This was more of a “whereisit.”

When we first meet Charlie Lawson, we see him as a peaceful old man who’s come back home after being away a long time. He seems sincerely sweet and charming, revisiting memories that include his long-ago job from his younger years. Even when a stranger approaches him, accusing Charlie of something he claims he didn’t do, we still believe in Danny Glover’s character, though we start to worry for him.

Shortly afterwards, we meet another man named Owen, an old colleague of Nate’s from his insurance days.  He, too, seems harmless enough, explaining to Nate why he’s there seeking help.

And where the story goes from there is beautiful and endearing tale, with just a touch of sadness.

The installment was a refreshing change. Normally, we have an established bad guy that needs to be taken down with some elaborately pieced together con by Nate and his team. Here, we got a simple story that tugged at our hearts.

I love the seemingly complicated, yet easily executed, cons the team pulls off, but this hour proved that sometimes you don’t need a whole lot of bells and whistles to figure everything out. Sometimes, all you need to do is listen.

It was fabulous to see Eliot’s skills in his former line of work: retrieval. It was also interesting to glance a little into his past in regard to him knowing some of the others seeking the lost painting. They were a first name basis with each other, citing old jobs where their paths crossed.

In addition to the gift of Charlie’s life story from childhood to adult, we were blessed with his tale being reenacted by our talented Leverage stars. Aside from their regular weekly personas, we saw them portray people from Charlie’s past who were in some ways slightly similar to their characters, but largely very different. Versatile stuff all around.

Standout performances by Aldis Hodge and Beth Riesgraf, especially. Who wasn’t moved by their portrayals of the two main characters of Charlie’s biographical tale of friendship and true love and their attempt to defy prejudice and society? (Charlie and Dorothy’s relationship also seemed to parallel Hardison and Parker’s relationship a little.)

This episode is a reminder why we love Leverage. So what are your thoughts about it?

You can check Leverage Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Episode 3 of Leverage season 4 titled “The 15 Minutes Job” gave us another quality episode. Their job involves bringing down a man who pulls the strings from the shadows to hurt good people. Interesting huh? Let’s discuss.

TV Fanatic: If you have ever asked, “What would Nate Ford be like if he used his powers for evil instead of good?, you got the answer in the form of Reed Rockwell, professional career assassin. When Hardison, Parker, and Eliot went through the details about who Rockwell was, we were set up to really hate him.

He had his own team, his strong guy dressed a lot like Eliot, and he had all the makings of a great bad guy. I even wondered if we might be meeting this year’s recurring villain when the episode opened.

Sadly, a good concept was all the character had, as he turned out be boring and one dimensional in delivery. Even if I forgive the writers for dropping the ball on Rockwell, I’m hard-pressed to forget the amount of “Gee, Scooby, let’s get back to the Mystery Machine” attitude that was used. In fact, there are three scenes that were so cheesy that they almost made me lactose intolerant.

The first was when Eliot was pretending to mug Parker and Rockwell walked by without a word. Parker and Eliot were shocked to find a woman standing there whacking Eliot with her umbrella in the arm. When this was written, I’m sure it was hilarious; I just wish it had been a bit more dairy-free on screen.

The second was the very next scene: we got to see Sophie chasing a runaway baby stroller, as she stopped to gawk at Rockwell for not helping and the stroller was presumably crushed by a car. She then looked the direction the stroller went, only to shrug it off like she couldn’t be bothered.

Lastly (but the most offensive) took place when Hardison and Parker went to the police archive to retrieve the film negatives. From the records keeper not hearing Parker right behind her (multiple times) to Hardison coughing to cover Parker rattling a file cabinet, this scene should have come with crackers or wine.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the cheesy goodness when used as small tidbits to move the story along throughout an episode; but, the thing I enjoy most about the show is how clever the team is. I look forward to seeing this revealed each week at the end of the episode when we get the breakdown of how they pulled off the job.

Any comment about the latest job? What do you think will happen next episode?

You can check Leverage Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

In episode 2 of Leverage season 4 titled “The 10 Li’l Grifters Job,” we saw how Nate and company faced an unusual task of clearing the former’s name. Nate was accused of a real murder and everything rooted out from there.

TV Fanatic: This episode should have been a slam dunk. As exampled each week at the end of the episode we get the reveal of how the team pulled off yet another job, the show is built around the classic formula of a “who-done-it.” Sadly, this week reminded me that there is no such thing as a “sure thing”.

I really wanted to love this episode! There were many things I liked; the nod to classic and modern literature with costume requirements (Parker was a cute Nancy Drew), the house having secret passages, giving us a reason the power blinks off regularly, and several suspects in the murder, just to name a few.

However, none those things could get me past the feeling that the episode was written backwards from the idea: What if Nate and his team were stuck in a game of Clue? Allow me to give you a clue to a few of the things that failed in this episode:

We never got the clients name: While it’s not uncommon for us to meet the client after the meeting with Nate starts, he normally gives the other person from the team meeting the client with him background on the client so that we the audience also get that information at the same time.

We had no knowledge of Nate’s history with Beck: Until Hammond confronted Nate in the last 10 minutes of the episode; we had no reason to suspect Nate. This caused me to be out of sync with the story, or to understand why each of the team appeared to suspect Nate might have killed Beck at some point.

Using recognizable talent: We did get several suspects; however, when I recognized the actor playing Ray Hammond (Steven Flynn) and the actress playing Hayley Beck (Johanna Braddy) and none of the actors playing the other suspects, it wasn’t hard to figure out they would come into play.

Uninformative reveal: For the first time ever the end of episode reveal didn’t actually reveal anything to me. They showed the same scenes we saw the first time and I was left scratching my head. Someone apparently missed some days in “how to write a who-done-it” class!

I had hoped the episode was going to turn around right at the end when Nate called Detective Bonanno (who we last saw in The Jailhouse Job), as that was a great nod to last season. Sadly, my hopes were short lived as we went back to Nate sulking and drinking because he doesn’t think anyone on the team trusts him.

Boo Hoo! You want the team to trust you Nate, open up to them! It’s just that easy!

Overall, I like episode 1 as it was better. Given the issues raised on ” The 10 Li’l Grifters Job,” I hope they’ll not provide the same on next episode.

You can check Leverage Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

The season premiere of Leverage titled “The Long Way Down Job,” gave us the idea about the challenges that Leverage team might face this season. One of them is the  feelings they’ve developed for each other.

TV Fanatic: Remember, the team memebers all used to work solo. Spending the last three years together, they’ve grown to trust, depend and even love each other; this is new ground for each of them. It’s just as dangerous as the mountain on which they were working.

I watched this episode with two other people and all three of us had tears in our eyes multiple times. It started when Parker showed frustration with Eliot when she wanted to do the right thing and bring Alan’s body back.

She ached over how bad she wants to think of herself as a good guy. Then, you could see a glimpse of how scared she was that to think this might not be the case, as Parker explained that they can do things the others cannot. That remorse alone tells me that you’re not bad Parker, never fear!

Of course, another big emotional scene arrived when Nate and Karen Scott were in the tent. It’s one of the few times that Nate has talked about what has motivated him and how he has been running on anger for years. Maybe this was the first time he admitted to himself that you will eventually get to a point where anger is not enough.

The icing on the emotional cake, though, was Parker grabbing and hugging Hardison when she got back. I’m hopeful that their banter about how this won’t be normal is foreshadowing some fun things to come this season.  It would be nice to see some additional romantic humor with these two.

Emotional growth is hard in real life and even harder to portray in a TV show. Props to Beth Riesgraf, who has done such an amazing job of portraying Parker’s growth. We have seen some glimpses from Hardison, Eliot and even Nate. I’m crossing my fingers that the writers continue to include as much heart and soul into future episodes as they did in this one.

I like the way Leverage has started this season. I’ll be back next week for episode 2 review.

You can check Leverage Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Expect Alec Hardison to experience some intense feelings on Leverage season 4.

As Leverage prepares to premiere its fourth season on June 26, Aldis Hodge wants viewers to prepare for a deeper relationship between his character and Beth Riesgraf’s Parker.

“It gets very emotional,” Hodge told me today. “They deal with feelings nether of them anticipated and they depend on each other in ways neither anticipated.”

So… does this mean Hardison and Parker will finally get together romantically? Not necessarily.

Hodge would simply tease that viewers will be “pleasantly surprised” by developments between the pair on episodes five and seven of the new season, labeling the latter as a “stepping stone” in their personal growth.

As for Hodge’s real-life relationship with Christian Kane, he makes it clear that it mirrors the brotherly way in which Hodge interacts with Eliot on screen.

“He’s my boy,” Hodge says of his co-star. “We rode up the elevator together and waited in the hallway together for auditions… We shoot pool, cause a bit of trouble off set. We respect each other and need each other on the show and it helps to have that in real life, too.”

Hodge is equally excited to hype the guest stars that he says make season four the best yet.

There’s Leon Rippy, who will come on board as the villainous Latimer (“But is he really a villain?” Hodge teases). And there’s Danny Glover, who will appear on a special episode that Hodge labels his “favorite” in show history.

“It has a very different look, it’s beautifully narrated and it’s a big change for Leverage,” he said of the season’s fifth installment.

Any thoughts?

You can check Leverage Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Leverage season 4 will premiere on June 26 so better mark your calendar! So what can we expect? Well, aside from the new preview featured below, you can also expect some new villains.

What is in store for Nate, Sophia and company? A pair of fun guest stars, for starters, as Michael Gladis and Danny Glover will both play roles on the series this summer. The former will play a PR expert, while the latter comes on board as a retired war veteran.

So what can you say about Leverage season 4 preview?

You can check Leverage Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

A Mad Men is coming on Leverage season 4.

Michael Gladis, best known for his three season stint as Paul Kinsey Mad Men, will guest star on the TNT hit as Reed Rockwall, a ruthless public relations expert in crisis management.

As first reported by TV Guide, Timothy Hutton’s Nate will be at the center of one of Rockwall’s schemes when a victim turns to him for help.

Leverage season 4 will premiere on June 26. Gladis – who also recently appeared on Medium and The Good Wife – will come on board the third episode, which is titled “The 15 Minute Job.”

Any comment about this spoiler?

You can check Leverage Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.