‘Leverage: Redemption’ Stars Talk Parker’s Decision, Sophie’s Love Life & Season 4 Hopes
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Leverage: Redemption Season 3 finale “The Side Job.”]
This very fun heist drama, with three seasons of the revival on Prime Video now done, has been doing deep dives on its characters’ pasts and figuring out who they are. In Leverage: Redemption Season 3, by the finale, it was Parker’s (Beth Riesgraf) turn.
The thief took the lead in a major way on this con, taking down a mark using child labor to the point he didn’t care who got hurt, with assists from the others (as she’d expected). But how far would she have gone without intervention from Eliot (Christian Kane)? Plus, what’s the appeal of Sophie’s (Gina Bellman) new relationship? TV Insider spoke with Riesgraf, Kane, Bellman, and Aleyse Shannon (Breanna) about the finale and their hopes for Season 4.
Parker on the edge
During the con, Parker brought the mark up to a bone grinder, threatening to throw him in. Eliot then found her, reminded her of their conversation on the mountain in the Leverage Season 4 premiere “The Long Way Down Job,” and she later said she had to drive the con until he stopped her to really sell it. But according to Riesgraf, even Parker wasn’t sure if it was all an act.
She enjoyed playing that beat, recalling Parker’s “history growing up in the foster care system and being mistreated and feeling very powerless,” which was why this job was such a trigger.
Prime Video
“No doubt she’s ready to push that guy in and she does not feel bad about it in not one bit,” she said. “We wanted people to feel like we don’t know what she’s going to do because she doesn’t know what she’s going to do. It was a one take all the way up the ramp into that moment. And so the build on it, we tried it a few different ways and we agreed, we don’t want her to crack. We don’t want her crying, we don’t want any of that stuff. She’s just really asking herself the question, ‘Is it revenge or is it redemption? What is it for me?'”
Riesgraf added, “She put herself in that situation very well knowing she may have gone the other way, and I think him coming in to reel her in really was necessary.” It had to be Eliot in that moment because Parker didn’t want her boyfriend, Hardison (Aldis Hodge), to know. “Eliot was the one that she couldn’t keep out,” she explained, with their similar pasts and things they’ve had to do to survive that the others wouldn’t understand.
He knows that “the tiger in her is still there,” according to Riesgraf. “It exists, and it’s a matter of choosing if you’re going to let the tiger out or keep it in. He understands that about her, and he’s not there to tell her not to do it. He’s just like, ‘This is for you to decide.'”
Kane said that Eliot’s both “proud of where she’s going but also scared because he’s led her along the road that he was on. Towards the end, he starts going, ‘Dear God, did I bring her where I’m at?’ And that’s not somewhere you want Parker. That’s not somewhere I want to be as Eliot Spencer. And so I’m really scared that I may have taken her down the road I was on trying to make her better or tougher and realize that she may have gotten there. And it’s a very scary place because now you can’t go home.”
Eliot’s redemption
As Dean Devlin and Christian Kane have both told us, Eliot would say he can never be redeemed, given what he’s done and the lives he’s taken. And so, exploring redemption for him, given the name of the show, is that “he sticks around long enough to see that everybody else gets redemption,” explained Kane.
“I think that’s his redemption. And then unfortunately, I think he has to move off somewhere else. Or maybe not. I have no idea. But I think that each one of these family members that he now has has to have redemption. And I think that’s his redemption. At least he tried,” he continued. “He can’t bring back the lives he took. So he tries to help people find lives that at this point they deserve.”
Sophie’s love life
This season, sparks flew between Sophie and Jack (John Charles Meyer), whom she met on a job in a small town. In the finale, she left to go on a trip with him to Manhattan.
“There’s something quite romantic about the relationship,” Bellman noted of what she called a “refreshing” relationship for her character. “It’s about poetry or music or nature walks. It doesn’t really traverse her reality of crime. It’s something she can really compartmentalize. She’s allowing herself to be romanced in a very feminine way and she’s got this other life where she is this tough mastermind making decisions, split seconds, in control, controlling the behavior of others.”
She shared that she and Riesgraf, who directed the episode in which he was introduced, spoke about who Sophie would be attracted to. “She’s not going to find a Nate [who died prior to the revival picking up]. She’s not going to be attracted to a powerful guy. She’s not going to be attracted to someone with money. She’s going to be attracted to someone who’s strong in their own self that has a community, a sense of community, and a certain kind of sex appeal.”
That was when Kane interjected and admitted he thought Sophie “would’ve been attracted to someone with a heart.”
Breanna’s future
The season began with Breanna actually off looking at colleges with Harry (Noah Wyle) and his daughter, but then we saw her really settle into the cons and embracing that part of her life. (Her bots on dating profiles? She has them talking to each other.)
“She has her own little quirks,” like those bots, Shannon acknowledged. “She’s definitely firing at the top of her game. Sophie, Parker, Eliot, her brother [Hardison], and Mr. Wilson have all sharpened her to a point where point where she’s using the top of her skills. I know if I was Breanna, I’d be like, ‘Dang, can I keep doing job after job after job, or do I revert back to where I was? It was easier.'”
Season 4 hopes
Prime Video has yet to make a decision about the show’s future, but the cast would love to return for a fourth season and even know what they’d like to see if there is one.
“We’ll have to have some high drama in it again. I think this season has been a classic. We had John Rogers back at the helm, and so we really leaned into the fun. We really leaned into the quickness of it and being light on our feet,” Bellman said. “But I think next season, we would have to go find some darkness again. I think we’ve always gone light, shade, light, shade, and we’ve always handled that really well. And this is definitely a very nice, bright, shiny, light season that people would get a lot of pleasure from.”
Kane agreed, “It’s the Jekyll and Hyde thing,” suggesting, “If there was a Jekyll and Hyde with [Eliot and Sophie] where we both flip back to some of the other stuff, then there’s no redemption, almost gets kind of erased. You know what I mean? Because it’s like, we’re coming after you now. You hurt us in a way that no one has, and so now the gloves are back off. You took us to a point where, ‘Alright, let’s just do some good for some people. Let’s be good. We’re all this.’ But then if you take that away from us and the gloves come off and we started getting bare knuckle, that would be a fun season.”
Prime Video
Shannon is hoping to see more genre-bending and enjoyed the “Scream Queen world” and noir episodes from Season 3. She also recalled The Office episode from the original run of Leverage.
Riesgraf, who wants to dive more into Parker’s backstory and other times she was operating, pointed out that they were one of the first shows to come back after the pandemic in 2020, which limited them as far as the number of people they could have on set and where they could go. “This season feels international. It feels global. I want to keep leaning into that as well,” she said, adding, off the episodes Shannon named, “Doing these episodes that are self-contained in their own little world keeps it super fresh and fun for everybody. So keeping the comedy and the character stuff we love so much and the action stuff with all that mixed in just makes it look like a really cool global experience.”
Shannon is hoping the show brings in her and Hardison’s Nana. “I already know who I want to play Nana, too,” she immediately told us. “If they could get a Whoopi Goldberg to play Nana, it’s like dream casting, right? Whoopi. Dean [Devlin], call Whoopi.”
What did you think of Season 3, and what are you hoping to see in Season 4? Let us know in the comments section below.
Leverage: Redemption, Seasons 1-3, Streaming Now, Prime Video
Conversation25 Comments
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Comments are closed on this story.
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C
Leverage Redemption; WE NEED A SEASON 4....5, 6, 7. 8!!
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G
Season 4 YES YES YES !!! We love all the characters !!! Cannot wait for season 4 …… many more seasons
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J
Season 3 was amazing, very different and yet very Leverage. Every episode was well written and the cast were simply outstanding. The only issue is 10 episode is just not enough, I want 18 again per season. ##RenewLeverageRedemption.
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Well who cries watching Leverage????? Apparently me. I am truly vested in these characters. I suppose helping those in need is my thing!!!! I LOVED the original Leverage and I LOVE Leverage Redemption. Throughout the series the characters had to work to stay together and find each others worth as well as there own. They truly can interact with society and I enjoyed all the episodes. I am looking forward to a 4th season!!!!
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This season was a lot of fun. I would to finally meet the famous Nana. There needs to be a season 4.
#RenewLeverageRedemption
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G
Season 3 of Leverage Redemption was great , I wish it would have had more than 10 episodes.
Please Please renew and give us an season 4 with maybe 16 or 18 episodes .
It would be great to bring in Nana 😉
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Season 4 is a must!!
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O
Yes; definitely a season 4! I can't get enough of Leverage and Redemption. I watch it over and over again And Whoopi would be fantastic as Nana.
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O
Fantastic finale for a good season, it's been great having a favourite show back even w the different tone. From the start Leverage Redemption has been a bit sillier and lighter, some of that Librarians vibe rubbing off. And that's cool but the only episode that went toooo far for me was the Haunted Summer Camp IT Collective. Nearly shark jumping, but they pulled back a bit next episode and fully by the end. Really hope we get a Season 4 & another excuse to rewatch the original series and this fully again.
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For Nana: CCH Pounder
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C
Funny, I was thinking of Tyler Perry (as in Madea) for Nana. 😆
Also, Sophie's relationship with the veterinarian/firefighter/mayor can't get too serious.... she and Harry seem like a friends-to-lovers situation.
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I loved this season. I love this show. Unlike a lot of reboots, it's quite fresh and you see the characters'.growth rather than just the same character who tell what they've gone through, but you don't see it in the character development.
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G
Please give us a Season 4 and more of Leverage: Redemption! I was a fan of the original years ago, but Redemption is even better! I love the character development, humor woven in with suspense, and many plot twists.
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I love this show I want a season 4
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I would love to see another season. We've watched every episode thus far, both the main show and the redemption seasons. Parker is my hero.
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I’d love season 4! Whoopi would make a great Nana! McSweeton, Sterling, Morrow, and Hurley would be fun to see again. I loved the episode with Tara, Astride and the RIZ baddie.
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PLEASE BRING SE A SEASON 4 TO LIFE. I'VE BEEN WATCHING THE LEVERAGE/LEVERAGE REDEMPTION SERIES LIKE FOREVER. IT'S INTRIGUING AND I JUST LIVE HOW THE BAD GUYS ARE THE GOOD/GREAT GUYS. REALITY, EVERYONE DESERVES A 2ND CHANCE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE 🫶🤗
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G
Tyler Perry as Medea for Nana. And how about an Almost Paradise crossover?
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C
I really hope there is a season 4 I have been a leverage fan from the very beginning 2009 etc
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P
Leverage: Redemption is a terrific show. I have watched it religiously since the start of the original Leverage and continue with Leverage: Redemption. You can always count on these shows to be entertaining, funny and the cons are very clever. I love every character--they continue to evolve with each season . It would be interesting to see more of the back stories for Parker and Hardison/Breanna. There is no question that we need to have a Season 4. Please.
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I truly hope there is another season of Leverage Redemption! I am a die hard fan and I have watched every episode from Leverage to the new Leverage Redemption. It is a show unlike any other and it's absolutely amazing!
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I loved the first episode of Leverage Redemption so much that I went back to the beginning and have just finished the first season of Leverage. I will watch off of the Leverage episodes and then move on to Leverage Redemption for continuity. I already know that I'd love to see a Season 4 of Leverage Redemption and hope they can bring Hardison back. The team was so great together, I love them all and their interactions.
Just a great light hearted show that makes me laugh.
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I didn't enjoy Season 3 as much as previous seasons, but the finale more than made up for that. The moment between Parker and Eliot was spectacular, referring back to their conversation in the cavern in Season 4 of the original Leverage. Eliot referred to their roles as being the people on the team who would be the ones who could do what the others can't or won't. I loved that, and have always wanted more of the relationship between the two of them. I really want another season, and I want another ElectricCon.
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Love Leverage and Redemption. Characters work well together. Keep it going
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O
Great to see this comment, one of my all-time favs too. Even though it seems well liked I think Leverage and Leverage Redemption are both underrated. The only show of this type I like as much really is Person of Interest. Also love how many of the actors show up again in other Dean Devlin shows, like Parker & Hurley in Librarians & Christian Kane in everything lol