TNT’s ‘Leverage’ Canceled After Five Seasons

TNT is not moving forward with another season of Leverage.

Executive producer Dean Devlin relayed the news in a letter posted on a fan site on Friday, starting off by simply saying, “The Long Goodbye is our final goodbye.”

“It has been decided today that this Tuesday’s episode of Leverage ‘The Long Goodbye Job’ will be the series finale as TNT has decided not to renew the show for a sixth season,” wrote Devlin, who called next week’s farewell “bittersweet.”

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TNT issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter confirming the news, praising the cast (led by Timothy Hutton), Devlin and co-creators John Rogers and Chris Downey, and leaving the door open to work with them should future opportunities arise. “We also want to thank the passionately devoted fans of Leverage, who have been the driving force behind its success,” the network said.

Devlin made waves when he penned a letter to Leverage viewers earlier this month revealing that the upcoming Christmas finale was the episode with which he and Rogers had always intended to end the series. When he spoke to THR, Devlin shared that it was while the writers were crafting episode 10 of the fifth season that he decided to employ the series finale plan. “We knew there were only five more [episodes] to go [in the season], and we had to make a decision,” he recalled. “We decided to make the decision. We knew it was risky, so we thought, ‘Let’s go for it.'”

Devlin was optimistic that fans would be satisfied with the Christmas finale, now the series closer: “I hope that [fans] feel this is the right way to end it.”

Leverage stars Hutton, Gina Bellman, Aldis Hodge, Beth Riesgraf and Christian Kane as a five-person team who use their skills to fight corporate and governmental injustices. The series launched in 2008 to 5 million viewers.

Read below for the network’s full response:

TNT’s Leverage has thrilled audiences with its delightfully intricate plots, its “stand up for the little guy” attitude and its terrific performances from stars Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf and Aldis Hodge. But after five wonderful years, it’s time to say goodbye. Leverage will come to a close on Christmas, Tuesday, Dec. 25, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), with a series finale that stands as one of the show’s best episodes.
 
We are honored to have worked with executive producer Dean Devlin, Electric Entertainment, creators John Rogers and Chris Downey, and all the cast and production crew on Leverage. We look forward to exploring new opportunities to work with them again in the future. We also want to thank the passionately devoted fans of Leverage, who have been the driving force behind its success.

E-mail: Philiana.Ng@thr.com
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