As it's gone on to enjoy success with its sequel show, which is about to return for season 3, Leverage remains part of the TV conversation nearly a decade later as it draws in new viewers, including myself, to follow its group of well-meaning thieves. Across its five-season run, the show certainly delivers on its genre promise with a number of compelling cases and humorous banter among the cast, though there are just a few elements holding it back from being a perfect show.

Hailing from creators John Rogers, Chris Downey and executive producer Dean Devlin, all of whom would later become known for the fantasy series The Librarians, Leverage centered on Nate Ford, a former insurance investigator who, after being convinced to steal back aerospace plans supposedly stolen from an industrialist, ends up becoming the team leader for a group of career criminals: "thief" Parker, "grifter" Sophie Devereaux, "hitter" Eliot Spencer and "hacker" Alec Hardison. Taking their earnings from their first job, the group create Leverage Consulting, with which they target corrupt rich people who are harming ordinary people.

Leverage's Robin Hood-Like Approach To Heisting Is A Nice Spin On The Genre

It Makes For Some Timely Social Commentary

Though the heist genre has almost always paired us with characters who are more akin to antiheroes out for their own gain, namely that of the Ocean's franchise cast of characters, Leverage giving us a group of people who are essentially having their cake and eating it too with their jobs is a wonderful change of pace for the genre. While it's not always necessary for heist protagonists to do good things on their jobs, it certainly doesn't hurt to also see them care about others than themselves.

One area where this formula does falter, however, is that it is still a formula, therefore making many of Leverage's capers feel a little too predictable.

Beyond just shifting the general formula, this Robin Hood-like approach to each episode's heist opens Leverage up to tackling some very heavy themes still all too relevant. From Nate's tragic past regarding his insurance company's questionable ethics that led to his son's death to government officials using corrupt means to keep their seats of power, it's really easy to draw a lot of parallels between headlines and the show. While I would have liked it to go a little deeper with its commentary, it does so just enough without taking away from the escapist fun of things.

One area where this formula does falter, however, is that it is still a formula, therefore making many of Leverage's capers feel a little too predictable. There are undeniably times in which the unforeseen hurdles the group encounter prove to be nicely surprising and create a fun bit of tension for them, but for us as viewers, it's hard not to recognize there will be an eventual final twist that sees everything working out for them.

The Cast Is An Absolute Delight To Watch

I Just Wish They Had A Little More To Them

As humorously satirized in Rick and Morty season 4's "One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty", one of the biggest keys to making a heist movie or TV show entertaining is having a cast of characters who keep us glued to the screen, whether because we want to root for them, or at the very least see how they pull off the job. Thankfully, even while Leverage's ensemble is meant to fill the archetype slots of the genre, they all do so in wonderfully entertaining ways.

Timothy Hutton's Nate is charming as the mastermind with an emotional chip on his shoulder, Gina Bellman's Sophie Devereaux is magnetic as the grifter who wants to moonlight as a professional actor, Aldis Hodge is smoothly comedic as the against-type nerd trope, and Christian Kane continues to play the gruff-voiced muscle. Arguably, the standout of the group is Beth Riesgraf as Parker, who really shines as the socially awkward, yet ever-energetic thief.

This is all the more disappointing when episodes arise in which characters deliver some truly wonderful performances.

My one real complaint with Leverage's cast is that it doesn't feel like they necessarily evolve enough across the show's five seasons. Nate frequently fluctuates between letting his alcoholism drive his personality and being sober, Sophie's past rarely influences her beyond her romantic ties with Nate, and Eliot is consistently the action hero of the bunch. The closest we get to any kind of growth or change in the group is with Hardison and Parker, whose relationship is not only humorous, but also leads to a new empathetic layer unlocked in them both.

This is all the more disappointing when episodes arise in which characters deliver some truly wonderful performances. One of the more egregious of this is that of Hutton, as the flashbacks to his son's death really feel like a father losing his son, while the series finale's fake-out flashback of his team's deaths sees him really playing the part well to convince his captors of his story. Though this isn't to say he's a bad performer in the rest of the series, as it is fun watching him go undercover with certain aliases, I certainly wish he and his co-stars showcased more of their range.

Leverage's Production Values Are Pretty Impressive

Barring The Occasional Lackluster CGI, Everything Pops To Life

With its home on TNT, Leverage's budget was only ever going to be able to do so much to pull off its cinematic set pieces, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the team was able to do so throughout the show's run. There were certainly times in which the cable network budget showed with its CGI, particularly with Parker's various elevator-scaling scenes, but thanks to an effective focus on practical effects, great casting and engaging stories, the show overcomes it to remain the ultimate blueprint for what future heist shows should do.

All five seasons of Leverage are available to stream on Prime Video.