Leverage will be returning for a fourth season in 2011.

TNT has ordered 15 episodes of the popular crime drama series, which will hail this new season with a Christmas segment on December 12 at 9pm, followed by a two-part episode on December 19, leading up to the beginning of the season in January. But there will be changes.

Damian Moreau Revealed

Fans of the series will be pleased to finally meet elusive crime financier Damian Moreau. The team was blackmailed into chasing Moreau at the beginning of season three.

On November 8, in an article entitled “Scoop: ER‘s Goran visnjic Is Leverage‘s New Big Bad,” tvguide.com annnounced that Moreau will be played by ER’s Goran Visnjic (Dr. Luka Kovac).

Shooting Returns to Portland

One thing that has not changed for the upcoming season is that the series will again be shooting in Portland, Oregon. Filming was moved to Oregon beginning with the second season due to the state’s film incentive program. The Oregon Film Office announced the news of the series’ return to Portland in its August e-newsletter. And the cast couldn’t be happier. In an article in the September 4 issue of The Oregonian entitled “‘Leverage‘ crew says they’re ’80 percent sure’ they’re returning to Portland,” Executive Producer Dean Devlin (Electric Entertainment) said, “We love it here. People here are so nice.”

Leverage Fans Grow, Unite

It comes as no surprise to loyal Leverage viewers that, in the July 30 oregonlive.com article entitled “TNT Renews ‘Leverage,'” the site counted a season three fan base of more than 4 million.

It looks like Oscar-winner Timothy Hutton (Nate Ford) was right when he took this chance on a television series following years of his rejection of pilots tossed his way, and after a distinguished film career. He’s still the youngest male actor, at 19, to ever win a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award.

In a July 2, 2009 article entitled “Timothy Hutton: The TV Sqad Interview,” Hutton revealed, “I remember the script for the first episode was great. I saw a lot of opportunity for the characters to grow. There was a lot of potential for conflict in each story – not just against the target of the episode, but also between the main characters. There was just a lot of appeal there.

“Also, everything Nathan has been through interested me: the loss of his son, the failure of his marriage. I thought,’ this guy has nothing left.’ He’s trying to get out from under. I wanted to explore that.”

On November 12, 2009, Electric Entertainment posted news of the first ever Leverage convention, Leverage CON Con, at the Governor Hotel in Portland.

News of the upcoming fourth season broke as the stars were filming the midseason finale, “The Morning After Job” that aired on September 5.

Cast Appearances in Film and Song

Since the series has been on hiatus, the cast has not been idle. According to IMDbPRO.com, Aldis Hodge (Alec Hardison) has two films in pre-production, both set to be released next year – Collective Development’s Wild Michigan, which stars Max Ryan and explores interracial relationships in the 1800s and Lives of the Saints from BCDF Pictures, starring Kat Dennings, Kevin Zegers, and Meg Ryan.

Upcoming projects for Beth Riesgraf (Parker) to be released in 2011 include starring alongside Robert Patrick in Awareness Entertainment’s Freedom for Joe, in which a pro quarterback re-evaluates his life after being paralyzed.

While on hiatus from Leverage, Christian Kane (Eliot Spencer) and Hutton teamed up to work on Kane’s video for Billboard Top 30 song, “The House Rules.” When his video premiered in October on GAC, Nashville resident and country crooner Kane told the network he was delighted when Hutton approached him with the idea of directing his video. The video aired on CMT (Country Music Television) on October 1.

Leverage also stars Gina Bellman (Sophie Devereaux). The series premiered in December, 2008.