TV Jots

Summer TV Kicks It Up a Notch

Oh, yeah! The sophomore season of TNT’s immensely fun crime dramedy Leverage launches on Wednesday, July 15, at 9pm ET, and I can’t wait.

If you’ve never watched before, the series stars Oscar winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People) as Nate Ford, a former insurance investigator who becomes the mastermind behind a merry gang of extremely effective corruption-busting crooks after corporate greed leads to the unnecessary death of his young son.

Joining Nate in his perpetual fight against all manner of despicable self-important bastards are:

Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman, Coupling), a grifter who uses her acting skills to weasel her way into the inner circle of her marks, although she can’t act to save her life when it comes to genuine, straight-up acting gigs.

Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane, Angel), a so-called “retrieval specialist” with a quick temper and impressive fighting skills to match.

Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge, Friday Night Lights), a technology geek extraordinaire who knows how to get the ball rolling when it comes to intel, communications, and other high-tech stuff.

And my personal favorite, lovely oddball Parker (Beth Riesgraf, My Name Is Earl), an ace thief who can get into and out of almost anywhere.

TNT uploaded a two-minute sneak peek for the upcoming second-season premiere “The Beantown Bailout Job” just a few days ago, as well as a 2½-minute rapid recap for the first season. Check ‘em both out below.

I’m thrilled to see the team still looks ready to rumble. It’s going to be fun following what they get into this time around, and, of course, I’ll have a review of the Season Two premiere before it airs.