Leverage: Redemption: The Too Many Rembrandts Job

July 8, 2021 5:56 PM - Season 1, Episode 1

When the team comes together to help Sophie, they intercept guilt-ridden corporate fixer Harry and decide to help him take down an evil billionaire making money on the back of an opioid crisis.

Variety - From New Leadership to Vicarious Punching, The ‘Leverage: Redemption’ Cast Previews The Continuation Series

TV Line - Noah Wyle: Joining Leverage Crew After Being One of Dean Devlin's Librarians Was Like Forming a 'Supergroup

posted by oh yeah! (21 comments total)

It's back! A day early! I submitted the show suggestion thinking I was being proactive for tomorrow, but then there the episodes were already up on Amazon/IMDBtv for viewing (thank you, mods, for the rapid response).

I'd been worrying that the show might not have the old magic with John Rogers only being a consulting producer instead of show runner, but, I thought the premiere boded well for the series. The Parker/Hardison/Eliot dynamic is as OT3 as it ever was, Sophie is still Sophie, Wyle's Harry Wilson seems fine, and Nate being gone is a relief. (I knew Hutton wasn't in the show, but I thought maybe they were going to have to constantly give story reasons for Nate not to be joining the cons.)

Not sure how quickly I'm going to get through all 8 episodes in this half-season, but I'd like to get a thread up for each one rather than doing a single all-episode thread.
posted by oh yeah! at 6:16 PM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

I really loved a lot of it - there were so many great moments, there. And great lines that just had me cracking up.

And especially seeing how stuff had shifted since the end of the first series. (I mean, I'm sure we're going to get some more details in there, too, but I thought the set up worked well for that.)

Also, I live in Boston, and there's a point where I paused, went "Oh, they're not going there. They ARE!" in absolute delight.
posted by jenettsilver at 6:48 PM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

Ok that was delightful, I enjoyed every second of it except for Parker's haircut. I think they integrated Wyle in well and set up a long term story for the season. I'm so happy it's back.
posted by jeather at 6:59 PM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the reminder!

Halfway through the premiere and I'm ok with the hook/ jump.

n-thing that Parker's haircut doesn't make any sense.
posted by porpoise at 7:14 PM on July 8, 2021

I am curious why they killed Nate off. Did Hutton -- other than Hodge the one with the most stable career since -- not want to come back? Did they not want him back? I'm not unhappy with this decision, either way, I just wonder.
posted by jeather at 7:27 PM on July 8, 2021

Hutton was accused last year of having raped a 14-year old girl in 1983, if you google his name you'll see the Buzzfeed article. No idea if he passed on the reboot or the producers passed on him, but Hutton seems to be staying out of the spotlight since the news broke, and I haven't noticed much commentary from the Leverage cast/crew in defense or condemnation of him (but I haven't really been looking hard; being spoiler-avoidant I'd only been keeping an eye out for the release date of the season only).
posted by oh yeah! at 8:08 PM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

There's a moment early on where Parker says, "Let's steal something!" and the way that Beth Reisgraf takes that one small phrase and TWISTS it into being a Parker line is fantastic.

I don't think I realized just how much I missed this show, I've been giggling most of the runtime.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:59 PM on July 8, 2021

I do know about the accusation against Hutton, but am not sure if that is the cause. (I think it is relevant that this one account, which I have no reason to disbelieve and do not disbelieve, was not followed by multiple other accusations.) I also vaguely recall thinking he was less liked on set but am not sure. Honestly I'm just being nosy about this.
posted by jeather at 4:56 AM on July 9, 2021

I lovvvve Parker's haircut because I think after her awful shitty childhood, watching her confidently wear bangs and almost pigtails and overalls and - she's like a Pippi Longstocking almost - it feels like she's being exactly who she is, stabbings aside.

They dropped a line about Hardison's dad which I absolutely do not remember from the previous show, I only knew Hardison's foster nana. And the subtle OT3 is wonderful. I will forever miss Lucille, but the food trucks everywhere is a great narrative trick for giving them similar layouts all over.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:29 AM on July 9, 2021

I don't mind the rest of the hair or the clothes, but the bangs are terrible. I assume we mentioned Hardison's dad to prep a little for his sister?
posted by jeather at 7:52 AM on July 9, 2021

Parker's bangs are to be expected. It's such a Hollywood staple: an actress hits a certain age and she gets a haircut to make her look younger. It's always bangs. Especially for this character, who was, in a lot of ways, the most innocent (despite her criminal accomplishments) of the original Leverage gang. Innocent=younger=bangs. It's just the Hollywood way.

What bothers me more is Noah Wylie's on and off and in-between New Orleans accent. Okay it's not Scott Bakula NCIS: New Orleans bad, but it's not good or consistent. And yes, the original show was notorious for bad accents, but it's one thing for the con characters to have bad accents, it's another thing for a main character to not be able to consistently sound right.
posted by sardonyx at 2:44 PM on July 9, 2021

I assume they filmed him with th accent for about a week, realized it was awful, and we shan't hear it again.

At least, that is my hope
posted by DebetEsse at 5:47 PM on July 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

Does it matter if I know nothing about the original Leverage to understand/enjoy this? Thanks
posted by sylvanshine at 10:21 AM on July 11, 2021

No, sylvanshine. You’ll miss some of the callbacks and in-jokes, but the premise is pretty straightforward otherwise.
posted by oh yeah! at 11:28 AM on July 11, 2021

You might want to watch the original pilot episode? That'll give you a good sense of who they are and where they came from.
posted by suelac at 8:00 PM on July 11, 2021

Also, my Boston heart was jazzed about the link to the Gardner Museum job.
posted by suelac at 8:01 PM on July 11, 2021

sylvanshine, you shouldn't need to.
You could watch the original pilot, or even just the tagline for the original show:
(Showing photos of the team)
Hitter. Hacker. Grifter. Thief. Mastermind.
"The rich and powerful take what they want. We steal it back for you. We provide...Leverage."

Think old school Mission Impossible, but instead of trying to get the missile launch codes, it's the deed to the orphanage.
posted by bartleby at 8:28 PM on July 11, 2021

I enjoyed the heck out of this and can't wait for the rest (in Canada, it's dropping one episode per week, starting yesterday, on one of our networks). I'm only sorry MrsMogur couldn't be here to see it - she would have loved it, too (we both devoured the original series).

Favorite line: "Let him do it himself, Parker. Otherwise he'll never learn."
Second favorite: "I wasn't sure about the gloating at first, but now I see the attraction."

I suspect the RIZ mercenary lady is going to be a recurring villain, possibly the Jim Sterling of the series (enemies to reluctant allies)? We shall see. I did enjoy her business meeting/underling brawl with Eliot. Also noted that he did *not* use his advantage at the end of that brawl to interrogate her, just gave some constructive feedback and walked away. He has grown so much.
posted by Mogur at 6:15 AM on July 17, 2021

Ah, just like old times, without having to deal with Hutton. Everyone else is much more fun.

(Always interesting when everyone has to politely ignore the elephant that used to be in the room, eh, interview-wise? I'd guess maybe he wasn't the most fun dude to work with either?)

I love the ingeniousness of "I'm going to be a hero and return that Rembrandt!" as a plot point to take a guy down. Hee hee hee.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:34 PM on July 23, 2021

One of my favorite things on rewatch is that Hardison and Elliot talk about how the water pressure "... would be enough to tear a baby's hand off!"
"Or maybe a toddler's?"
"What a disturbing metaphor!"

Evidently this was a bit of the original Leverage writer's room banter, as it was a slogan for some rare earth magnets that delighted and horrified them. (I've been re-reading old John Rogers blogs, too.)
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 8:16 PM on August 29, 2021

without having to deal with Hutton.

Right? (hello I am just watching this now). Hutton's hair, clearly a "Let's mousse this up to cover up the fact that his hair is thinning" always made me itch a little. I like Parker's bangs as a look but they sometimes get wavy which is a less-good look, and Elliot's hair is naturally wavy and almost curly and the fact that his character has a straight hair blowout is also always distracting since sometimes if he gets wet and/or sweaty it reverts to type. I've been binging the old seasons of Leverage and have finally caught up to this season and so far it's been an odd "The old gang gets back together after a lot of years" (see also: Kids in the Hall) year for me, but I look forward to seeing where this goes. I liked Wylie/Kane in The Librarians so I figure I will here as well.
posted by jessamyn at 9:25 AM on December 27, 2022