White Collar was a successful USA series that paired a con man with an FBI agent to solve the titular white collar crimes, and though a White Collar revival was announced in June 2024, it has not made it into production just yet. Its spiritual successor is the Canadian crime series Wild Cards.
Wild Cards, starring Vanessa Morgan and Giacomo Gianniotti, is certified fresh with a 100% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. Similar to White Collar, it follows a detective (Gianniotti) and a con woman (Morgan), who find themselves forced into a team-up for the sake of both of their futures.
Wild Cards’ Charm Is In Its Odd Couple Pairing
Max And Ellis Have Very Different Methods
Part of the charm of White Collar is that Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) and Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) appear to be polar opposites. Neal finds the con thrilling, and he has an appreciation for the finer things in life. Peter is more of a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy who just wants to do the right thing.
When Peter arrests Neal, Neal becomes a consultant. The two form a genuine friendship as they work together, despite one of them wanting to work by the book and the other preferring to make suspects his marks.
There is a similar difference when it comes to Matt and Ellis. The two are paired up when Max is arrested while in the middle of a scheme, and Ellis believes her tip about an active investigation. He’s a recently demoted detective who is promised to move back up if a partnership between the two works out.
Max is promised a reduced sentence if she helps the police solve their cases. It’s a win-win for them. Max loves a good pop culture reference, and Ellis rarely understands them. Max, however, is also a wealth of knowledge about antiquities, priceless artwork, and just about everyone who works on the black market.
Max also carries a wig, a change of clothes, and, according to her, a grappling hook at any given time. She can also improvise a cover ID in any situation, even after Ellis instructs her to play by the rules. It’s not unlike Neal going against Peter’s word to pull the wool over the eyes of Peter’s suspects.
Both Max and Ellis also have pasts that provide overarching narratives for the series while they solve cases of the week, similar to Neal wanting to find out what happened to his girlfriend or Neal and Peter teaming up to take down a ring of high-class thieves.
Of course, Max and Ellis offer one thing Peter and Neal’s dynamic did not: a will-they-won’t-they romance that adds to the tension of the series.
More Wild Cards Is On The Way
CBC Television Ordered Two More Wild Cards Seasons
Wild Cards airs on CBC Television in Canada, where the series is filmed. It was picked up for distribution in the US by the CW for its first two seasons. While those two seasons have already aired on television, they are available to stream.
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Where To Stream Wild Cards |
Seasons Available |
|---|---|
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Prime Video |
Season 1 |
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The CW App |
Seasons 1 and 2 |
CBC Television has also already ordered seasons 3 and 4 of Wild Cards. While the CW has not confirmed whether the network will pick up those seasons as well, it’s very likely. The CW has been able to save on production costs by picking up several Canadian series, including Sullivan’s Crossing, Law & Order Criminal Intent: Toronto, and more.
The White Collar Revival Is Still In Development
Disney Passed On White Collar Renaissance
The White Collar revival series was officially announced to be titled as White Collar Renaissance, but there has not been a lot of public forward movement on the series. That is because Disney, for whom the revival was in development, passed on making the project.
The series is still in active development, but the cast has been attached to other projects while waiting for the revival series to take place. Matt Bomer is one of the stars of Mid-Century Modern, Tiffani Thiessen has been announced as one of the cast members for Disney’s Coven Academy, and Tim DeKay recently appeared in Chicago Med.
Bomer, DeKay, and Thiessen are the only confirmed cast members for White Collar Renaissance so far. Original series creator Jeff Eastin is still working on finding another home for the show.
While fans wait for more news, Wild Cards provides a great ongoing alternative to the series.
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