The LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION Team on the Show’s Future and a Surprising Season 3

LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION’s onscreen journey has been as twisty as the cons the team pulls off every week.

The series—a revival of the TNT series LEVERAGE, which ran for five seasons—was originally ordered by IMDbTV, which aired season 1 in 2021. The platform was then rebranded to Freevee by the time season 2 debuted in late 2022. But after Freevee shut down, Prime Video stepped in to be the new home of LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION, with season 3 bowing on Thursday, April 17. (Freevee was Amazon’s free, ad-supported platform; Prime requires a subscription to Amazon Prime.)

“The world of television has changed dramatically,” LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION executive producer Dean Devlin tells Give Me My Remote in the video below. “You know, it used to be in February they [had] to know what shows they were making because they had to get in front of the advertisers. And then in the fall, you have to have your shows debut because that’s when all the new cars were being sold…That’s when you got the car ads right? And you needed movie season. There [were] all these things that gave you a schedule, a schedule that you have to meet. Well, that schedule doesn’t exist anymore, and the needs of these platforms are very different than what they were before.” 

“So it’s not as simple as, ‘Is the show good? Do people like it? Are they watching it?’” he continues. “Now there’s all kinds of new things that have to get factored into it. Is this the right show for the platform? Is it the right amount of episodes? Is this audience already subscribing to the thing, or will a new audience come and subscribe? I mean, it’s a very complicated process and I respect that they have different hurdles that they have to go through. It may not be fun from my chair, because I want to make a show every single year and just get renewed when people say the show is good, but I understand we live in a more complex society and much more complex entertainment environment. And I’m grateful that we’ve had this incredible support from Amazon from the beginning.”

Devlin praises Amazon, who helped revive the series for IMDbTV—something he wanted to do since it ended its TNT run in 2012. “They gave us that opportunity, and they couldn’t have supported us better,” he says. “And when it looked difficult to renew the show, when they got rid of Freevee…it was a big step for them to say, ‘All right, this is gonna be the first time in history that we take an AVOD show and move it into an SVOD platform.’ I mean, it never happened before, and it was incredible. So that kind of support, that kind of endorsement of the show, is something we’re incredibly grateful for.”

Though it’s been more than two years between seasons, the producer compares it to the previous hiatuses between installments of the revival if the show returns for season 4

“The people who come back to LEVERAGE, it’s not because they have a contract, it’s because they love the show,” he says. “John Rogers didn’t need to come back and be showrunner again [for season 3], but this is a part of his DNA. And he loves the show. Chris Downey loves the show. The quality level of writers that we have on this show, it’s way beyond what we could actually afford. They’re not here because it’s a paycheck or a career opportunity. They’re here because they actually love this show. And same with our actors—their contracts had long expired before the next season, yet we got them back.”

“Sometimes you do shows because it’s a stepping stone to your next thing, and sometimes you do shows because you just love it,” he continues. “And LEVERAGE is one of those things. And I think that that passion for the show is also what makes the show so different when you actually watch the episodes because it’s like when you go to your grandmother’s house and she’s made your favorite dish—it’s made with love.”

As to whether the show is able to get Noah Wyle, who plays Harry on the Prime Video series (and is now very busy with THE PITT), in a potential season 4, Devlin notes, “it’s always gonna be about timing. And timing is not something I have any control over. I get to make a show when they tell me I get to make the show. So to me, that’s what John Rogers always calls a ‘20 minutes from now problem’ right now.” 

“If we get another season, I’m sure it’ll all work out, somehow,” he continues. “I mean, the fact that Aldis [Hodge, who has played Hardison since the original series] comes back while he’s literally the busiest person in all of show business, that’s a tribute to his love for the show. He has no time to do our show, and yet he’ll call up and say, ‘Next Wednesday, I have a day off. Do you need me to come in and shoot something?’ I mean, who does that? Who does that, except someone who’s incredibly generous with their talent, with their time, with their love?”

Hodge—who also stars on Prime Video’s CROSS, as well as having a film career—“does it because he loves this show, and most importantly, he loves the fans,” Devlin points out. “He really feels the fans of this show are what gave him his career, and that they continue to support him. And he wants to give them love back. And, again, these are very special people. This is not a group of giant egomaniacs. This is a group of really lovely filmmakers who love each other and put that love on screen.”

For longtime LEVERAGE actors Gina Bellman (who plays grifter ​​Sophie Devereaux) and Christian Kane (who plays enforcer Eliot Spencer), having said goodbye to the show in the past—and coming back, time and time again—means it never really quite feels over.

“I mean, I think you’ve always got one foot in both of those courts: You always think, ‘Oh my God, this is the last episode we’re ever going to shoot.’ And then you think, ‘Oh my god, we’re going to be doing this for the next however long because we’ve done a great season that we’re so proud of, and the fans are going to love it,’” Bellman says. “But I think that we’re always going to live in both worlds, basically. If it doesn’t go again, I’ll feel so blessed that this has been such a big part of my life. And if it goes again, you know, I’m here for it. I think we all feel that way.”

“I don’t ever walk out of anything, even the last one we did…thinking it’s [over],” Kane adds. “I think they’ll tell us when it’s the last one. I really think that they’ll tell us with writing and everything else, and somebody will tell us, ‘Hey, this is gonna be the last one.’ I just don’t think it’s over….I don’t think they’ll just let it end.”

“Now that’s not to say who’s gonna let it end—it might be us, might be Dean, might be somebody else,” he continues. “But when it’s over, I think the fans will know it’s over.”

What helps the franchise stay relevant more than 15 years after LEVERAGE debuted? The news cycle.

“The stories just keep coming thick and fast,” Bellman notes. “You know, every time you open your phone or open a newspaper, you’re like, ‘Okay.’ I was saying to Christian, sometimes I open a script and I think, ‘Oh, this is a little bit of a cartoon baddie.’ And then I open my newspaper and I’m like, ‘Wait, this is a cartoon baddie.’ And so I feel like the stories keep coming, and the characters keep evolving, and the relationships keep developing.”

“There’s no, there’s no shortage of bad guys, and our show just lends itself to it,” Kane adds. “So it’s very fun.” 

Season 3—which features a Christmas episode, plus the team taking on a corrupt mayor/judge, revenge against a very personal con that targeted someone with a tie to the team, and more—”is going to surprise a lot of people,” Devlin teases. “I think it’s unlike any season we’ve ever done before. And I’m just super excited to get this in front of people.”

In the Christmas episode, which is a part of the first week’s release, “We can tease some great costumes, some real fun action, some great locations around New Orleans that are a little spooky, a little creepy,” Aleyse Shannon, who joined the franchise playing hacker Breanna Casey in REDEMPTION season 1, previews. “Just a good time, a lot of fun.”

“You’re gonna see our characters explore a little bit of their emotional journey— their past, on their love lives, on what’s next?” longtime LEVERAGE star Beth Riesgraf, who plays thief Parker, adds. “What does the future hold as this ever-evolving world of corruption is getting more and more intense and dangerous? And for Parker and Hardison, they’re gonna have to come to a decision about some things. What does that mean for her personally and as a member of the team?”

“[The] characters [are] really going through some reflection on where they’ve been and where they’re heading,” she continues. “And so that’s really gonna be fun. And the action and the costumes and all of the stuff is gonna not disappoint.”

Of course, for Parker specifically, the promo teased an ominous bit of danger for her this season.

“Oh, people are like, ‘Does she die? Is Parker dead? What happened?’” Riesgraf says with a laugh. ”I’m not gonna spoil anything, but I love that with John Rogers, our showrunner, back at the helm, that edge and danger’s back. And particularly for me, with Parker, it was important to not lose that with her, because she can be volatile. She doesn’t have the same self-regulation as other people, right? She’s choosing to, with this team, but because of the team, she has it, you know?”

“So when things start to shift and change, and she actually has to ask herself, ‘Wait, why am I doing this? What is my reason for staying on this side of the line when I so easily just do it that way?’” she continues. “There’s a lot of interesting things that are coming up, but seeing her in a situation where you’re not sure what’s going to happen, it is sparking some responses.”

RELATED:

• LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION: Prime Video Sets April Season 3 Premiere
• LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION Renewed, Moving to Prime Video
• IMDb TV Renews LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION
• LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION: IMDb TV Sets October Return for Second Half of Season 1
• LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION Post-Mortem: Dean Devlin Shares Why Nate Was Written Out That Way
• LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION: Aleyse Shannon on Breanna Finding Her Place in the Team
• LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION: Dean Devlin on Finding the ‘Perfect’ Home for the Revival, and How the New Characters Influence the OG Team
• LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION: Noah Wyle Previews the Team’s New ‘Utility Player’
• LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION: Gina Bellman Previews Sophie’s Evolution in the IMDb TV Revival
• LEVERAGE Revival Ordered at IMDb TV
• LEVERAGE: Dean Devlin on the Series Finale, That Final Scene, Sophie’s Real Name, and More
• LEVERAGE: Aldis Hodge Talks About the Show’s Final Season

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.