The ‘Leverage: Redemption’ Cast on Cons, New Characters & Callbacks (VIDEO)
Most of the Leverage crew we know and love from the original series (which ran five seasons on TNT from 2008 to 2012) is back in the IMDb TV revival, Redemption. And these bad guys are still just what the world needs to stop the rich and powerful who take what they want.
Grifter Sophie Deveraux (Gina Bellman) rejoins Thief Parker (Beth Riesgraf), Hitter Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), and Hacker Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge) after being out of the con for a bit, while they’ve been successful with Leverage International (and have multiple crews operating around the world). That means Sophie had an adjustment to being back on the con just like Bellman did to stepping back into her character’s shoes.
What helped was her costume fitting, as Noah Wyle (who joins as Harry Wilson, a corporate lawyer seeking redemption and the Fixer) reminded Bellman when TV Insider chatted with the cast (watch the video above). “I went into my first fitting and we just like banged it out and it was just like, ‘Yep, that, yep, that,'” Bellman recalled. “It was all really seamless and we brought in a few costumes as well from the old days and everything just felt really natural.”
What’s not “natural” is this new world that Harry is introduced to. For him, it’s “total intimidation,” Wyle said. “He has no idea what he’s falling into and it’s fun to play a reactive character who, every time he tries to be proactive, he does the wrong thing.”
Also new is Breanna Casey, the Maker and Hardison’s sister, with her “suitcase of mischief,” Aleyse Shannon previewed of her character. “There wasn’t much on the audition side, so I really had to make it what it was and just see what was in me to offer to these people. They’re so generous and everything I bounced on them, they bounced it 10 times back. It’s all you can ask for from your first series regular job, and it’s such a beloved show. I feel like the luckiest little goblin in the world.”
Alfonso Bresciani/Amazon Studios
While Hodge is only a special guest star (due to scheduling), fans can rest assured that fan-favorite couple Parker and Hardison are still going strong. “There’s a real ease and confidence that doesn’t have to really be talked about because it’s so rooted in what they have now,” Riesgraf shared. “So it’s a really beautiful sort of secure position for her for probably the first time ever in her life.”
Fans of the original series will be pleased to hear that there are numerous callbacks (including Parker’s love of vents and Eliot’s ability to recognize “very distinct” things). “There’s one specifically in ‘The Paranormal Hacktivity Job’ where there was a scene written and Gina and I were like, ‘Wait a second. This is a moment for us to bring some of our old tricks out.’ Anybody who knows Parker and her love for money will appreciate it.”
Alfonso Bresciani/Amazon Studios
“It’s not scripted and you have to really, really search for it, but if Parker starts getting a little heated and maybe a little too excited — Parker excited — Eliot will just kind of reach over and hide a fork,” Kane added. “If you don’t know what that means, you don’t get it. It’s so subtle, it’s ridiculous, but we love putting stuff like that in there.” (For those who didn’t watch the original series or might have forgotten, Parker does like to stab people with forks.)
Watch the video above for more from the cast to find out what’s changed about Parker and Eliot’s dynamic, meet the new crew members, and hear Kane say a fan-favorite line.
Leverage: Redemption, Series Premiere, Friday, July 9, IMDb TV
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