TNT unveils ‘Leverage,’ ‘Raising the Bar’

TCA — By Kimberly Nordyke

TNT on Friday touted two new shows premiering later this year: legal drama “Raising the Bar,” from Steven Bochco, and action drama “Leverage,” from Dean Devlin and John Rogers.

“Bar” stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar as a public defender, Jane Kaczmarek as an imperious judge and Gloria Reuben, whose character runs the public defender’s office. It debuts at 10 p.m. Sept. 1, going head to head with the broadcasters’ new fall seasons and series, but TNT’s programming chief Michael Wright isn’t worried, pointing out that the network recently made a commitment to ramp up its development and programming slate.

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“At a certain point, you have to trust your programming and jump in with both feet,” he said. “We feel great about the night – it’s not an accident it’s on a Monday night and that we put it on a night where the audiences knows where to find us.” (TNT”s hit dramas “The Closer” and “Saving Grace” also air on Monday nights.)

Of making the switch from “Malcolm in the Middle” to “Bar,” Kaczmarekquipped: “Having done a show with so many children, I’m happy to bewith grown-ups on this one.”

Also addressed was the topic of Gosselaar’s hair, which is a littlelonger and shaggier than viewers are used to seeing on the actor.

“All the women said they thought it looked great and sexy,” Bochcosaid. “For this character, it isn’t a fashion statement. For thischaracter, this is a statement of a guy that doesn’t have time to goget a haircut. He’s not a guy with a closet full of suits and shirtsand ties. … I thought organically it was a smart choice.”

“Leverage,” premiering in December, is sort of a modern-day take onRobin Hood. The series, starring Timothy Hutton, follows “a team ofthieves, hackers and grifters who seek revenge against those who usepower and wealth to victimize others.”

“At the heart of the show, these are five people who are all broken insome way or the other, and they find that when they are togethersomething magical happens,” Devlin said. “It’s like the ’84 Celtics –separately they’re not so great, but together they’re remarkable.”