What do you get when you meld together the con job genre of an Ocean's 11 or The Sting with a high-tech Mission Impossible ensemble team? Mix in some Get Smart campiness and a touch of the do-goodness of Robin Hood and his band of merry men (and women) and you have Leverage.
Leverage is an American television drama series that first premiered on December 7, 2008 on the TNT network. It follows a team of five members led by a former insurance investigator who use their skills to turn around injustices to common people perpetrated by organizations like corporations, government entities, and organized criminal elements.
The organizer of the group is Nathan Ford who is played by Timothy Hutton. Ford had been an insurance fraud investigator who had a seriously ill son. The insurance company he worked for refused experimental treatment and when his son died Ford began drinking. He was eventually fired from his job. By the start of the show, Ford is an alcoholic who has been divorced by his wife and is ready to get back at those who take advantage of others.
Sophie Devereaux, who is played by Gina Bellman, is a grifter and accomplished art thief. She tries to be an actress in real life, but is only able to be convincing when she is pulling a con job. She acts as a buffer between Nate and the team when there are problems and it is evident that she and Ford have had feelings for each other.
Eliot Spencer, as played by Christian Kane, is a highly skilled martial artist and weapons expert, and an expert in retrieval. While he has a distaste for guns, he is proficient in their use and knowledgeable about them – so much so that in one episode, "The Homecoming Job," he is able to identify the type of a gun from the sound it makes. He also has other abilities such as profound culinary skills.
Parker, who has only one name, is played by Beth Riesgraf. She is a thief, cat burglar, and explosives expert. She is a risk-taker who is in it for the thrill. In one episode she explains that she does not like things, she likes the money. In "The Nigerian Job" her abusive father tells her that she has a choice to do what she is told, or to become a better thief. She chooses the latter.
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