Birdwings

Themed! Serendipity. Compare and contrast with Leverage first impressions coming right up, and Hustle has the edge. However, they also feel like two completely different shows which just happen to be about five con-artists apiece.

Firstly, it's much more stylized from the opening credits in. It's got a jazzy, techno score. It breaks the fourth wall. I can see how that would be off-putting to some, but I found it delightful.

The casting also wins in Hustle, because Leverage features the standard array of ridiculously young and attractive leads. I tend to prefer British and Canadian casts because they don't default to models. The Hustle team features an actual old man! And Philip Glenister being plausibly middle-aged while Mickey and Stacie feel mature. These are adults, who have a sense of life experience which you'd expect from top-shelf con-artists. And the one twenty-something (Marc Warren! Of Highlander! And he's awesome) is the gangly, inexperienced raw talent who is new to the group.

As for the group dynamics, there I will give the win to Leverage. I can't say much for how Mickey's team relate to each other yet. Leverage made the various relationships clear as a bell, from the tension between Nate and Sophie to Hardison crushing on Parker to Elliot trying to reach through Nate's despair. The characters land a lot faster, in their roles on the job and toward each other.

On the other hand, while the group interactions might be more crisp, Leverage does not offer an immediately compelling pairing possibility. Mickey and Danny on the other hand... Hello, gunplay as secret test of character. Hello, mind game ship. And hello, hello "here endeth the lesson." This could go places.

The two biggest differences between the shows as I see it? First, Hustle is much more restrained. Leverage is pure fantasy. Hardison's office, the jetsetting, the catsuits and wire work and instant hacking. It's big, shiny and wealthy, filled with action. Hustle seemingly reins that impulse in. Leverage feels like it's about super spies gone rogue. Hustle is about con artists doing cons.

Which leads to the last difference, the most major. Mickey and his team aren't crusading against injustice. There has been no big speech about defending the little guy, no creed or rallying cry. They like doing cons, and don't want to get real jobs. Leverage is very much wish fulfillment, heroism, Robin Hood escapism, and therefore I totally get why Leverage won the popularity contest, even though I feel a stronger pull toward Hustle on aesthetic grounds.

In the end, though, I'd say Hustle is dark chocolate and Leverage is milk chocolate. Picking between them is really a matter of current mood and personal preference, and I'm glad they're both available on YouTube.