Similarities between Leverage and The A-Team

 

As many of you know I am a huge fan of The A-Team.  In fact, huge may be an understatement.  It is my all time favorite show.  Another of my favorite shows is Leverage.  And every time I watch Leverage, I can't help but think about how it has borrowed some story lines from The A-Team.

Clearly, the premise of both shows is very similar.  They both involve criminals who operate on both sides of the law while trying to help the little people and take down corruption.  One of the signature lines from The A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together," is often uttered by characters on Leverage.  And there are some episodes that are very similar in nature.  Here is just a brief overview.

Both shows had episodes involving diamond smuggling.  In The A-Team they actually went to South Africa to get involved.  The Leverage team worked the case from the U.S.

Another similar episode involved boxing.  B.A. had to infiltrate an illegal boxing ring in The A-Team, while Eliot had to get in the ring to stop a corrupt fight promoter on Leverage.

Next up we have a mob wedding.  Both groups had to get involved in a mob wedding.  The A-Team had to try to stop the wedding and rescue the bride, while Leverage was trying to con the bride's mob boss father.

Both shows had an episode where a character had to pose as a homeless man as part of the con.

There was an episode of each show where the crew is stuck on a hijacked plane.

The Leverage crew went after a corrupt incumbent mayor, while The A-Team tried to prevent a corrupt incumbent sheriff from getting re-elected.

Both crews went after a corrupt car dealer.

Both shows had an episode involving the music industry and a character posing as a music producer.  In fact, The A-Team got involved with the music industry in a few episodes.

And, finally, both crews had to deal on multiple occasions with a team of their evil opposites.  The Leverage crew actually had to team up with their opposites for one episode.

I'm sure there are many more similarities, and I could go into excruciating detail comparing the two shows, but I won't.  The bottom line is that it's clear that Leverage was inspired by The A-Team, which is probably why I liked it so much.  So if you haven't seen either or both of these shows, I highly recommend them.