Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Leverage: Redemption season 3, episode 5, "The Grand Complication Job"!
After a 14-year absence from the franchise, Gina Bellman's Sophie elects to take an absence in order to try and rediscover what she wants from life. Ryan's introduction was also for a practical reason, as Bellman was on maternity leave during production, with Tara making a guest appearance in season 4's "The Girls Night Out Job" for a case with Sophie and Beth Riesgraf's Parker.
Now, Ryan is back as Tara in Leverage: Redemption season 3, episode 5, "The Grand Complication Job", which proves to be another female-fronted episode for the series. Initially spending time with Sophie just as she's kidnapped, Tara teams up with Parker in an effort to try and discover who kidnapped her and why. When Parker's tasked by the kidnapper with burgling the titular Marie Antoinette watch, Tara also serves as back-up for her on the job, which also puts them on a collision path with Alexandra Park's Astrid, similarly tasked by the kidnapper to protect the watch.
In honor of the episode, ScreenRant interviewed Jeri Ryan to discuss her Leverage: Redemption season 3 return. The star shared her love for the show, going back to her work on the original, as well as why she was so keen to jump back into the character. Ryan also broke down the dynamic between Tara and Aleyse Shannon's Breanna, as well as her thoughts on what she'd like from the show in the future, how Tara was impacted by seeing the maternal side of Sophie, and her hopes for Star Trek's future.
Ryan Has Eagerly Awaited The Phone Call To Come Back To Leverage
"It's Just Like A Family Reunion."
While Ryan may have held a shorter tenure on the show than others, Tara remains a fan-favorite character of the titular group of well-meaning thieves, and the star herself has remained Leverage since her exit. Denoting how people often ask what her favorite job is, she describes the heist series as being "one of the absolute top", sharing her love for "the people", "the character" and her time on the show as "so much fun and such a wonderful experience".
"She's just so much fun," Ryan explained as to why Tara remains one of her favorite characters. "She's so ballsy, and I love her snark. You know that she's a grifter, so you never know who you're going to be this time. You always play at something different, and she's just a treat. She's a bada--, and it's fun to get to play that part of myself."
I think that would be fun to readdress too.
One thing that proved different for Ryan this time around is that, while the original show was filmed in Portland, Leverage: Redemption is set in and films in New Orleans. Even still, the star was beaming walking on the sequel show's set, as "so many of my friends from the crew on the original show were still with it". She went on to describe how reuniting with both the cast and crew of the show was "just like a family reunion" for her.
When asked about where Tara has been in the time between Leverage season 4 and Redemption season 3, Ryan humorously itted that she, showrunner Dean Devlin and creators John Rogers and Chris Downey did "not even a little bit" discuss this narrative gap. Instead, the star expressed that she's "just been out doing her thing and having her adventures", though assured that she and Sophie "are always in each other's lives", and "get together whenever they can".
She's been in touch with all of these guys, because I think there was a real mutual respect and love that they had developed years ago when she was with the crew for a while.
With the episode missing the likes of Christian Kane's Eliot, Aldis Hodge's Hardison and Noah Wyle's Harry, Ryan's return wasn't a complete reunion for Ryan with her prior cohorts. When asked who she'd most like to work with again in the future, the star jokingly accused "you're trying to get me in trouble", though did share her feeling that "Tara had a real affinity with Eliot", thanks to the fact "they fought together". "She really enjoyed ribbing him, because he was easy to get, and I think she enjoyed that aspect of teasing him, and showing him he's not always a tough guy," Ryan expressed. "So, I think that would be fun to readdress too."
Sophie's New Strives At Motherhood May Have Unlocked Something New In Tara
"...She's Always Been Such A Lone Wolf And So Independent..."
As she noted above, one key person in Tara's life remains Sophie, though Bellman and Ryan didn't get much of a chance to work with one another during her time on the original show's run. In getting an opportunity to properly work with Bellman for Redemption season 3, as well as reteaming with Riesgraf as Parker, Ryan recalled her delight at being on set with the former, praising that they "got along so well" and that it was "so fun to play off each other", particularly given "the characters styles are completely different".
While the team may still be up to their usual jobs, many have gone through some personal evolutions across the Redemption seasons, namely Sophie, who is currently trying to better her relationship with Astrid as her stepmother and doing her job differently. With episode 5, in particular, really forcing Sophie to reflect on the connection between her job and her family, Ryan does acknowledge that Tara seeing all of this firsthand may have unlocked something for her to explore in the future, if she returns.
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"I think she's always been such a lone wolf and so independent," Ryan expressed, "and I think that maybe watching this side of Sophie develop, being a mother and embracing that, maybe makes it a little more interesting for Tara. Maybe it's something she could do at some point. Everybody always asks me [what I want for Tara next], and I never have an answer. I don't know.
"I'm not a writer, and I just enjoy going along for the ride and seeing what brilliant things they've come up with for her to do, and for me to play, because they're so beautifully written, and so beautifully developed," Ryan continued. "So yeah, I would just be ready to see whatever her next adventure that they come up with is."
Though she'd eagerly awaited the chance to return to the show, Ryan laughed as she shared that she didn't pester Devlin for more Leverage: Redemption episodes in the future, jokingly calling it "a missed opportunity" and that "maybe I should have". All the same, she did assure that she remains open to another return in the future, calling it "an absolute treat to be there every time I get to see them".
Ryan Will "Never Say Never" To Another Star Trek Return
She Is Also Keeping Captain Seven Of Nine's Warp Command A Secret
Looking beyond Leverage: Redemption, Ryan was asked about her thoughts on the chances of reprising her role as Seven of Nine in Star Trek's future after Picard's ending. The star reflected on her overall experience with the long-running franchise, sharing that a major lesson she's learned from it is "never say never", particularly as she "was sure that I had said goodbye to this character and walked away". She also "never, ever, ever in a million years expected that I would be back playing her on Picard".
One element of Seven of Nine yet to be explored in the franchise is what her warp command would be now that she's in the Captain's chair, as Picard season 3 cut to black before it was shown. Ryan recalls having heard "the most evil and brilliant recommendation" at some point in which "we should never hear what her tagline is". Instead, the show "should cut every time she's getting ready to say it", laughing as he calls it "pure evil genius".
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As for when she filmed the episode itself, Ryan's lips are sealed as to whether any kind of warp command was used in the Star Trek: Picard ending, saying "I'm gonna have to tell you that's a mystery". Carefully avoiding confirming if even a placeholder was used in the meantime, Ryan simply teased that Seven of Nine fans are "gonna have to wait to see".
More About Leverage: Redemption Season 3
In Leverage: Redemption season 3, the team pits themselves against a power broker stealing the clean water under people's feet and turning into dirty money, fight against a mayor who's literally the judge and jury of his small town, outrun a mark who's finally caught up with them mid-con, outhustle a pool hustler with a side business in international extortion, and bring down an industrialist exploiting child labor. All this while dodging an intricate plan of vengeance from a past enemy and working through the fallout of their new personal relationships. But no matter what, when someone needs help, they provide ... Leverage.
Check out our previous Leverage: Redemption season 3 interviews with:
- Gina Bellman & Christian Kane
- Aleyse Shannon & Beth Riesgraf
- Dean Devlin
- Beth Riesgraf (Post-Mortem)
New episodes of Leverage: Redemption season 3 air Thursdays on Prime Video!
Leverage: Redemption
- Release Date
- July 8, 2021
- Network
- Prime Video, IMDb TV, Amazon Freevee
- Directors
- Dean Devlin, Noah Wyle, Jonathan Frakes
Cast
Noah WyleHarry Wilson
Gina BellmanSophie Devereaux
WHERE TO WATCH
Leverage: Redemption reunites The Hitter, The Hacker, The Grifter, and The Thief, ed by a new tech expert and corporate fixer. The group targets contemporary villains, from an opioid crisis architect to a secretive security firm, continuing their mission to provide leverage to those in need.
- Writers
- Marque Franklin-Williams, Mel Cowan, Chuck Maa, Alayna Heim, John Timothy, Christine Boylan
- Main Genre
- Action
- Creator(s)
- John Rogers, Chris Downey
- Executive Producer(s)
- Rachel Olschan, Kate Rorick
- Producers
- Josh Schaer, Jill Weinberger
- Seasons
- 3
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