Leverage

Leverage returns with new episodes this summer.

And when the TNT hit premieres, viewers will be treated to a family affair: Edwin Hodge, the older brother of series regular Aldis Hodge, will guest star on the opening episode of season three.

Look for Edwin to portray an an accountant, TV Guide reports, who is sent to prison for a minor traffic offense. From there, he's accused of killing an inmate and meets up with newly-incarcerated Nate.

"I just felt it was a great opportunity to share the screen with my brother and show the difference in our talents," the elder Hodge said. "As siblings in the entertainment business, it's always a great experience, and one I think all siblings should share."

Edwin starred in Boston Public and has also appeared on Bones, Heroes, and Ghost Whisperer.

Leverage returns to TNT with new episodes tonight.

As fans await the latest storylines and developments, star Timothy Hutton previewed what's ahead over the next six hours in an interview with Fancast.

On Nate's most unusual persona: [Tonight], the team infiltrates a fashion show, and as part of the con Nate has to be a designer. We went for a strange hybrid of Karl Lagerfeld and… oh, I don’t know who else. It’s certainly a bizarre persona. Nate really throws himself into these cons – and sometimes even goes a little too far.

On Nate and Tara: I don’t want to give anything away, because that is certainly something people will be wondering about. I will say that wherever there are sparks to be had in the next six shows, they will come from very unexpected places.

On an upcoming storyline: Nate gets a call that Maggie has wound up in a prison in the Ukraine, and the only person that has information about it and can get her out is Nate’s old pal, Sterling. Nate is forced to work with Sterling side-by-side on a con, and you then see that Sterling is setting Nate up. Maggie is very definitely in jeopardy.

Having been off the air since September, Leverage begins the second half of its second season run on January 13.

On that date's episode - titled "The Runway Job" - the team cons the owners of a clothing company after it grossly mistreats its employees.

As the following photos from the installment depict, Jeri Ryan is still around as Tara Cole, a welcome addition to the series for any warm-blooded males with eyes. Click on the pics below for an early look at scenes from the upcoming episode...

Across the nation, 90210 viewers have finally come to grips with the fact that Luke Perry will never reprise his role of Dylan McKay on the show.

But fans of the original series can get their long sideburn fix on an upcoming episode of Leverage, as Michael Ausiello confirms the actor will guest star on the TNT hit.

Perry will play an unscrupulous psychic in a role insiders describe as “chilling.”

On the small screen, Perry was most recently seen on Law & Order: SVU and Criminal Minds.

We can't believe he's shirking responsibility as the father of Kelly Taylor's son Sammy. He should be ashamed of himself.

Jeri Ryan showed up on last week's summer finale of Leverage as the character of Tara Carlisle, an alleged lawyer that was eventually revealed to be a fellow con.

"Part of the fun of Leverage in general is in the twists and turns and surprises, and this one definitely had that payoff," the actress told TV Guide.

In the closing moments of the episode, it was revealed that Sophie sent Tara to her colleagues for assistance. This kicks off an extended arc on the show for Ryan; she'll appear in all six winter episodes of Leverage.

"They have a hard time accepting Tara into the group," she said. "Obviously they miss Sophie, and they're not sure what's going on without her. They're a little off-balance, I think."

But that will soon change. Added Ryan:

"Tara earns their respec. They grudgingly accept her at first, until they realize that she does deserve to be there because she is just as talented as they are."

No air date has been announced yet for Leverage's return to TNT later this year.

Based on another successful run, Leverage has been renewed by TNT for a third season.

The summer's finale will air Wednesday, September 9. The show will then return to complete its second season later this year, with the third season scheduled to air in summer 2010.

“Thanks in large part to its engaging cast and clever storytelling, Leverage has proven itself to be one of the most exciting and fun hours on television,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies. “The producers, cast and crew have been incredible to work with, and we anticipate another wonderful season.”

Good news, Leverage viewers:

TNT has extended this show's summer run by two episodes, adding previously unscheduled installments on September 2 and September 9. Following the summer finale, Leverage will complete its second season in the winter.

The September 9 episode, titled "The Lost Heir Job," will feature Jeri Ryan as Tara, a grifter who helps the team and will recur later on.

On Leverage, Beth Riesgraf stars as master thief Parker.

In an interview with The Boston Herald, the actress dished on her character, explaining to fans what they can look forward to on the second season of the TNT hit.

"The throughline for Parker this season is that now that she’s comfortable around this group and she’s decided that she needs them in her life, the next step for her is acclimating herself and having a group of friends and people she can trust and how she deals with that,” she said.

Viewers, of course, wanna know if Parker and her partner-in-crime Alec Hardison will follow through on the mutual attraction that played out during the show’s initial season.

“People really want them to get together,” she said. “But if they did, people would be really disappointed. If it happens too fast, it doesn’t work. I think that the writers are being really smart about it. There’s enough there to play with and they definitely have chemistry, but you have to ride this one out, I think.”

On tonight's new episode of Leverage, the team comes up with a scheme to get back at a crooked fight promoter. But it goes awry.

As a result, Eliot (Christian Kane) steps into the ring... with his shirt off!

Follow this article's jump to watch a clip of the character in action.

Continue Reading...

Season two of Leverage premieres tonight on TNT.

The first season concluded with team members going their separate ways, following a heist gone awry. However, star Timothy Hutton told TV this summer will include a reunion for the main characters, along with other interesting developments...

On Nate's vices: Nate has successfully stopped drinking, we come to learn, but there might be a possible relapse as the season goes on. It's a very, very difficult road he's on. And certain other vices come up and take the place, usually in the form of, not necessarily an actual drug, but more along the lines of how he gets back at people he thinks have been pretty sleazy characters. He acts out in very vindictive ways... People are going to enjoy seeing the vindictive side of Nate.

On seeking revenge: A little over-revenge. Sometimes the Leverage team says to Nate, you know, we really don't need to go that far, Nate. It's okay. And he says no, we're going to bury this guy. They have to hold him back.

Overall take on season two: Theres's a lot more character play going on. You know, last year a lot of us, for some of the cons, would play other characters and do accents — what the writers like to call "hats." So this year we do a lot of infiltrating established institutions. One is a private school, for example, where we send away some of the people who work there and one of us becomes the headmaster for a week.