The ideas behind Leverage are simple but slickly presented in a charming and entertaining way. In terms of the style this has very much the feel of an American version of the BBC’s Hustle, although the premise is slightly different. If this sounds crass and possibly quite dumb it could so easily end up that, but somehow manages to elevate itself into something quite good. If Leverage has a secret weapon it’s the quality of the actors they’ve hired, fronted by the excellent Timothy Hutton as ex-insurance fraud investigator, Nate Ford. He plays the world weary honest man to perfection, pursuing his new career as gamekeeper turned poacher only as a response to the death of his son. The angle that his son died because an insurance company wouldn’t cover the medical expenses might seem overly concocted, but it works well enough to get us accepting his motivations. Another quirky performance also comes from Beth Riesgraf, as the unhinged Parker, consummate cat-burglar and the product of a violent upbringing. But the final jewel in this ensemble is the wonderful Gina Bellman (Jekyll), a down on her luck grifter reduced to playing repertory theatre. She’s obviously in the mix to provide some more interesting back-story to Hutton’s character as the show progresses, and unleash her legendary ability to flirt. The problem, if there is one, is that the 42 minute running time of the pilot doesn’t really have much more time than to introduce the characters and then give a few subtle hints about how this show might develop. But even in that short space of time it was funny and engaging, and shows some genuine promise. I liked what I saw of Leverage, and want to see some more!
