Hustle Returns - Sort Of

So I watched and thoroughly enjoyed three seasons of the BBC series Hustle as it aired in the U.S. on AMC. The show starred Adrian Lester and featured the hilarious Marc Warren as well as Jamie Murray, Robert Glenister and Robert Vaughn as the perfect long con crew operating in London. The cast had chemistry and the shows were interesting and fun (watch them on DVD). Then in Season 4, Adrian Lester disappeared (to sell the Sydney Opera House) and the rest of the crew was left to fend on their own. This was OK because although Lester was great, Warren certainly kept things rolling along.

However, Season 5 just premiered last week in the U.K. and since I am spending a few days in London, I was able to watch it on the BBC site (which blocks out non-UK viewers). Now the story has flipped and we are told that Warren and Murray's characters are in the U.S. so Lester's character has returned to work with Glenister's character and assemble a new crew. While the episode had a similar pace to its predecessors, the show just isn't as funny without Warren so it remains to be seen whether it can hold interest in the long run. I am also not too excited about the new members of the crew - they seem a little wishy washy for my tastes. Episode 2 airs tonight here in London so I will get to take in more information before coming to a final opinion (and waiting out whether the series will even air in the U.S.)

Here is a scene of Warren and Murray - they will be missed:



Marc Warren had a thankless role in last summer's blockbuster Wanted and although it looks like he has some more projects in the U.K., here's hoping we get more of him stateside soon.