TNT's "Leverage" Heats Up Winter with Television's Coolest Gang of Grifters

Hit Series Returns Sunday, Nov. 27, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)

Television's coolest gang of thieves, grifters and con artists are about to heat up winter with eight new episodes of TNT's hit series Leverage. Academy Award(R) winner Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf and Aldis Hodge star in this fast-paced, light-hearted caper series, which is currently enjoying its most successful season ever. Leverage returns with new episodes Sunday, Nov. 27, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

Leverage centers on former insurance investigator turned thief Nate Ford (Hutton), who leads a crew determined to bring down rich and powerful people who exploit and take advantage of average, everyday people. His cohorts include Sophie Devereaux (Bellman), a brilliant grifter; Eliot Spencer (Kane), a retrieval specialist; Alec Hardison (Hodge), a gadget and technology wizard; and Parker (Riesgraf), a slightly off-center thief adept at rappelling off buildings.

The winter run of Leverage promises fans the same exciting twists and grifts, but this time in some surprisingly non-traditional jobs. In "The Office Job," airing Sunday, Dec. 4, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), a simple embezzlement scam becomes complicated when the team becomes part of a documentary shooting at the company they're trying to save. Josh Randall guest stars in this mockumentary spoof.

In a special two-week event, the men and women of Leverage will work separate cons on their same "night off." The women find themselves uncovering an international conspiracy with a thief, while the men work together to bust a drug deal that has put Nate's friend Hurley (returning guest star Drew Powell) in danger. "The Girls' Night Out Job," which guest-stars Jeri Ryan in her return as the grifter Tara, will air Sunday, Dec. 11, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), and "The Boys' Night Out Job" will air Sunday, Dec. 18, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

In addition to Ryan and Powell, fans can expect a long list of guest stars this winter with the return of several familiar characters. The final episodes airing in January will feature the return of several characters from Leverage's past, including Leon Rippy as Latimer, Tom Skerritt as Nate's father, Jimmy Ford, Richard Chamberlain as Archie Leach, Kari Matchett as Nate's ex-wife, Maggie Collins, Clayne Crawford as Mr. Quinn and Wil Wheaton as the team's nemesis, Chaos Mason.

Leverage premiered in 2008 and has become one of cable's biggest hits. The show's fourth season has averaged more than 4.7 million viewers, up 5% compared to the prior summer. Leverage is executive-produced by Dean Devlin (Independence Day, TNT's The Librarian movie series) and creators John Rogers (Transformers) and Chris Downey (The King of Queens). The series is produced for TNT by Devlin's Electric Entertainment.

About Electric Entertainment

Electric Entertainment is a full service film, television and new media production company and studio headed by veteran producer Dean Devlin along with Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan. Electric is currently prepping production for the fifth season of TNT's Leverage, which will begin shooting in early 2012. Electric's most recent film projects include MGM's Flyboys and Sony Picture Classics' politically-charged documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?, which was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Documentary Feature. Electric's television credits include The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, starring Noah Wyle which aired on TNT network in December 2004 and was the highest rated movie on cable that year; its sequel The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines; and the third installment of the franchise, The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice. Along with Bryan Singer's Bad Hat Harry production company, Electric produced Syfy's The Triangle, which won an Emmy(R) for its Visual Effects and was the highest-rated miniseries on the cable channel since Steven Spielberg Presents TAKEN (2002). Electric launched Electric Visual Effects (EFX), which uses the new division as its in-house effects arm allowing the filmmakers they work with to stretch their dollars way beyond traditional effects budget boundaries. The company first created effects for the Devlin produced feature length The Librarian: Quest for The Spear for TNT. The small effects crew for that project was assembled from industry veterans Devlin had previously collaborated with on his global box-office hits including Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot and Eight Legged Freaks. EFX is headed by veteran visual effects producer Mark Franco, whose career spans over 25 years and includes productions such as Titanic, Batman & Robin, Armageddon and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, among others.

About TNT

TNT, one of cable's top-rated networks, is television's destination for drama. Seen in 100.5 million households, the network is home to such original series as The Closer, starring Emmy(R) winner Kyra Sedgwick; Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; Falling Skies, starring Noah Wyle; Franklin & Bash, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; and Southland, from Emmy-winning producer John Wells, as well as the upcoming series Major Crimes, Dallas and Perception. TNT also presents compelling original movies, including a slate of thrillers set to premiere this fall in the TNT Mystery Movie Night showcase. TNT is the cable home to powerful dramas like The Mentalist, Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and, starting next year, Castle; primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards(R); blockbuster movies; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news; entertainment; animation and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.