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July 11, 2008

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.

"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,” Kaczmarek quipped: “Having done a show with so many children, I’m happy to be with grown-ups on this one.”

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

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

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

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

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