8 Things We Know About ‘Leverage: Redemption’ Season 2
One of TV’s most entertaining series of 2021 is coming back for a second season, and the good news is we already know some of what to expect.
Leverage: Redemption ended its first season with the team taking down the shadowy organization RIZ (but is it gone for good?) and successfully steering former corporate lawyer Harry Wilson (Noah Wyle) down the path of doing some good. Plus, after he was off saving the world in other ways, hacker Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge, whose availability was limited) rejoined the crew and thief Parker (Beth Riesgraf) made a decision about the future of the leadership.
Thanks to teases and hopes from the cast and executive producers, TV Insider has some idea of what to expect going forward. Scroll down for some hints.
Leverage: Redemption, Season 2, TBA, Amazon Freevee
It Will Likely Explore Eliot's Backstory
In “The Bucket Job,” hitter Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane) not only revisited his past (via flashbacks to his work before the crew, after RIZ drugged him) but also failed to see his dad (again, after “The Low Low Price Job” in the original series). “Eliot’s father is something that me and [original series creator and consulting producer on the revival] John Rogers have always played with,” the actor shared.
Eliot’s past is “a storyline we’ve always wanted to go further with. In the original series, it was going to be a big part of that Season 6, and so it’s something we’ve held onto [and] teased again here,” executive producer Dean Devlin said prior to the renewal. “If we go further, we’re going to take it to where we had always wanted to go. It’s an important part of the story and it’s an important part of understanding why Eliot is who he is. People are going to be very surprised when that storyline blossoms.”
Sophie Will Be in Charge
Back when the original series ended, Parker took over as the mastermind. When the revival picked up, she’d been leading a dozen teams as part of Leverage International. In the Season 1 finale, she decided that’s plenty for her and handed over control to grifter Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman).
Harry's Probably Not Part of the Team Full-Time
Harry’s off to do some good on his own now, without the team, as his path to redemption continues. But could we come back? “It may go as he plans and it may not,” is all Devlin would say.
Whatever happens, Wyle’s hoping that his character crosses paths with the crew again and not just to answer legal questions. “When Dean Devlin calls me, I go, ‘yes?’” the actor said. (The two worked together on The Librarian movies and subsequent TV series.) “Sometimes you just answer the call from the person who opens up a chapter that you know is going to be really fun for you. I think that’s what the Leverage team will be for Harry. He’s going to have a life and he’s going to move on, but every once in a while the phone will ring and he’ll be, ‘yes?'”
But who knows what could happen? Maybe something will draw him back into the fold permanently.
Hardison's Back (Maybe?)
It’s likely that how much we see the hacker going forward will depend on Hodge’s availability. But as Devlin pointed out, “we’ll take whatever we can get because every additional moment with him is worth it.” Still, we expect to at least hear about cons he worked with the crew since returning.
Expect More Character Development
“What’s always been fun is the character growth. We have these interesting characters who are in a new time in their life. The fun will be is to see how they move forward. There’s new members,” Devlin said. “Sophie is blossoming into this new role as the leader of the team, and that’s going to affect her and bring out parts of her past that we haven’t seen before. And in so doing, it will be the same with our other characters.”
There Could Be More of a Focus on the Original Team's Dynamics
The revival did introduce two new characters in the first season — Harry and Breanna Casey (Aleyse Shannon) — and did have to understandably dedicate some time to that. But Kane expects that now, we could see more with Parker and Eliot, like in “The Hurricane Job,” because “they work so well together.” Remember, they and Hardison were working together in the years between series.
RIZ May Not Be Completely Gone
While the crew was able to bring down RIZ and expose their wrongdoings, “which, [in a] world that relies on secrecy, kind of takes them out,” executive producer Kate Rorick said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if something rises from the rubble and we see shades of them again.” Considering how badly the head, Bligh (Lucy Taylor), wanted Eliot to join them, something tells us she might not be the only one, so we wouldn’t be surprised if whatever we see of RIZ involves him in some way.
Characters Could Return — If It Makes Sense
Drew Powell returned as Jack Hurley, a mark who’s now a member of Leverage International, and mentioned other characters from the original series as well. The cast has their picks for who they’d like to see again (though Riesgraf pointed out “once you come on as a guest, you’re kind of burned in a way,” since most of the time, the guest stars are marks).
“It’s always fun to bring back characters, but we want to make sure that those characters are relating to the characters on the show now,” Devlin said. “Otherwise we have a lot of new characters that we want to bring in.”
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