TNT Cancels LEVERAGE

Last night, TNT announced it was canceling caper series Leverage after five seasons and 77 episodes. The show caught my interest from the description I read in October 2007. Production was delayed by the WGA strike of 2007-'08, but in April '08, I found out my friend Christine Boylan would be on the writing staff when the show premiered in December.

I expected the show to be more serious, but I soon warmed to its sense of fun. It took a few episodes to balance cluing viewers in on how each con was pulled off and effectively fooling the bad guys, but by the end of Season 1, it hit its stride.

With so many straight procedurals now airing, humor is what sets a show apart. I'm glad Leverage was able to keep it up for five seasons. Christine left the show after Season 3 and worked on Castle Season 4. She now writes for Once Upon a Time. Along with Christine's career, I've followed several other writers from the show, including Amy Berg of Eureka and Person of Interest and Albert Kim of Nikita.

Thanks to co-creators John Rogers and Chris Downey and everyone on Leverage. The series finale airs Tuesday night at 10:00.