John Rogers is a writer I was first introduced to during his run on DC Comics’ Blue Beetle. When he stepped down from the comic monthly series, I was dismayed. But now that I know it was to develop TNT’s Leverage, I’m much happier. The premise of the show is classic and simple: “The series follows a team of thieves, hackers and grifters who act as modern-day Robin Hoods, taking revenge against those who use power and wealth to victimize others.” TNT ordered a 13-episode run for the first season, which premiered in early December, airs every Tuesday at 10 PM (EST). Now, you may be saying to yourself: “Nuts I missed it last night.” Well the good news is that TNT is making it available On Demand, and if you do not have Comcast as your cable provider, you can watch past episodes online at TNT’s website here.

In recent years, cable networks have consistently surpassed the broadcast networks in terms of quality. And while much noise is made about the quality product that the premium cable channels (Showtime with Californication and HBO with Big Love, for example), I consider Leverage to be one of the best new shows to be developed in the past year or more. I recently caught up with Rogers (who co-created the show with Chris Downey) via email and we were able to do a quick interview. I thank Rogers for his time and for not ruthlessly mocking me with how offbase my first question turned out to be. Read the rest of this entry »