10 Best TV Shows Like Leverage

Over its 5 season run, Leverage showcased its early-established premise, in which a team of criminals pull off heists to right the wrongs inflicted on everyday people by organizations and corporations, to great effect.

The show’s ensemble cast of characters was often one of its biggest strengths, and the series with similarities to Leverage explored here often make use of that arrangement as well. Whether they’re sci-fi hits or crime-focused dramas, these shows have connections to Leverage in a variety of ways.

White Collar (2009 – 2014)

White Collar follows thief, expert forger, and all-round con artist Neal Caffrey who strikes a deal with the FBI agent who finally caught him, Peter Burke, to help him apprehend other white-collar criminals.

Balancing week-to-week capers with overarching storylines in a way that’s reminiscent of Leverage’s later seasons, White Collar similarly presents its protagonists as competent people at the top of their respective fields. It develops their relationships as the story progresses, while also rounding out its main cast with other compelling individuals.

Leverage: Redemption (2021 – )

Of course for fans of Leverage looking for similar action, there’s no closer pick than the show’s own revival series, Leverage: Redemption, which aired its first season in 2021.

The reboot brings back most of the original cast but also introduces some fresh faces, making the best characters in Leverage: Redemption a welcome mix of the familiar and the new. Retaining much of the show’s original structure while occasionally updating aspects for the present day, Redemption gives viewers the chance to follow the crew’s new adventures almost a decade later.

The Librarians (2014 – 2018)

Developed by Leverage’s creator John Rogers, and with production from one of that show’s producers Dean Devlin, The Librarians is an adventurous fantasy series centered on new members of its titular organization—each highly skilled in their own way—who protect the world from hidden magical threats.

Amongst its similarities to Leverage is actor Christian Kane (Leverage’s Eliot Spencer) in a starring role, here playing Jacob Stone, a languages and art history expert from small-town Oklahoma. Tasked with combatting supernatural villains and investigating magical disturbances, the Librarians make use of their specialized knowledge in a similar manner to the Leverage crew, keeping the world safe in this fun and lighthearted show.

Warehouse 13 (2009 – 2014)

The science fiction series Warehouse 13 focuses on Secret Service agents Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer after they are assigned to a post in rural South Dakota, the mysterious Warehouse 13, which stores supernatural artifacts.

The Warehouse brings together exceptional people from various government agencies that possess gifts (either intellectual or paranormal) to assist them in retrieving and storing artifacts imbued with powerful energy. Its mix of adventure, drama, and comedy will appeal to Leverage fans, as will the journey its main characters go on as they learn to understand the importance of their mission.

Hustle (2004 – 2012)

Arguably Leverage’s most direct predecessor, the British show Hustle follows a group of con artists who have a particular flair for long cons, as they target and swindle corrupt individuals.

At its most basic, Hustle and Leverage are similar shows, both focusing on teams that operate under their own moral code while pulling off jobs in a way that unravels as a mystery to the viewer. But they also have their differences. Hustle often makes use of more stylized scenes to convey a character’s thoughts in the midst of action, sometimes breaking the fourth wall to elaborate on a point for the viewer’s sake, and is overall a more episodic story than Leverage.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow (2016 – )

At its outset, Arrowverse show Legends of Tomorrow saw time traveler Rip Hunter pull together a misfit group of superheroes (and villains) to battle the threat of his immortal enemy Vandal Savage.

The way that Legends’ ensemble group of misfits slowly learns to work together makes it a great choice for fans of Leverage, and its cast of DC heroes evolves over the course of the show. In more recent seasons the series has fully leaned into its zany premise, as illustrated not only by the fun time periods the Legends have visited but also its themed episodes, one of which sees the team portrayed as puppets!

Fringe (2008 – 2013)

Fringe is a science fiction show in which its protagonists work for the (fictional) Fringe Division of the FBI, making use of fringe science to investigate cryptic mysteries with ties to a parallel universe.

Mirroring Leverage in its structure, in which its original villain-of-the-week proceedings gradually developed into more long-running plots, Fringe’s exploration of other worlds and its internal mythology make it compelling for fans of multiple genres.

Stumptown (2019 – 2020)

Stumptown is a crime drama based on a comic book series of the same name by Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth. It follows military veteran-turned private investigator Dex Parios as she takes on cases in Portland, Oregon.

Similar to Leverage’s protagonists, Dex has a troubled past, and in part became a PI in order to pay off her gambling debts, while PTSD from her time as a Marine continues to affect her. Dex’s connection to her brother Ansel is also one of the show’s strengths, while Dex’s badass Stumptown fight scenes are a worthy successor to Eliot’s in Leverage.

Psych (2006 – 2014)

Balancing the detective work of main character Shawn and best friend dragged along-for-the-ride Gus with comedy and an exploration of the two’s lifelong friendship, Psych’s central premise uses deception in a way that will be familiar to Leverage fans.

Shawn’s eidetic memory and unparalleled observational skills allow him to pass off his investigative talents as a psychic ability, leading to his career as a “psychic detective”. Though there have been franchise changes since the pilot episode, Psych has retained its core qualities, making the show successful over its 8 seasons and beyond.

Person Of Interest (2011 – 2016)

While Person of Interest started out as a crime drama, its development over 5 seasons elaborated on its science fiction elements.

Following a presumed-dead former CIA agent John Reese, who is recruited by a mysterious billionaire and computer programmer Harold Finch to use his creation ‘the Machine’ to prevent deadly crimes, Person of Interest explores morality and ethics in depth, building on a conversation that lives in the background of Leverage.

About The Author