White Collar (TV series)

White Collar
File:White Collar (TV series).png Intertitle from the second half of Season One
Genre	Comedy-drama
Created by	Jeff Eastin
Starring	Matt Bomer Tim DeKay Willie Garson Natalie Morales Marsha Thomason Sharif Atkins Tiffani Thiessen
Country of origin	Template:TVUS
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2R
No. of episodes	15 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Jeff Eastin
Producer	Fox Television Studios
Production location	New York City
Running time	approx. 42 minutes
Original release
Network	USA Network
Release	October 23, 2009 (2009-10-23) – present

White Collar is a USA Network crime comedy-drama television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Matt Bomer as con-man Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke. It premiered on October 23, 2009. In December 2009, White Collar was renewed for a second season beginning on July 13, 2010; USA Network did not announce the number of episodes ordered.

Overview

Neal Caffrey, a con-man, forger and thief, is captured after a three-year game of cat and mouse with the FBI. With three months left while serving a four-year sentence, he escapes from a maximum-security federal prison to find Kate, his ex-girlfriend. Peter Burke, the FBI agent who initially captured Caffrey, finds him at a dead end in his search and returns Caffrey to prison. This time, Caffrey gives Burke information about evidence in another case; however, this information comes with a price: Burke must have a meeting with Caffrey. At this meeting, Caffrey proposes a deal: he will help Burke catch other criminals as part of a work-release program. Burke agrees, after some hesitation. Through the successful apprehending of several white-collar criminals, Caffrey has proven to Burke that he will help him, and that he will not try to escape again. This begins an unconventional, but successful partnership.

Characters

Main characters

• Neal Caffrey, played by Matt Bomer, is a skilled forger and thief who was imprisoned after being captured by FBI Agent Peter Burke. After his girlfriend visits him in jail and ends their relationship, Neal escapes from prison in order to find her, but Peter quickly recaptures him in their now-empty apartment. Back in prison, Neal proposes he become an FBI consultant, but Peter declines, then changes his mind, leading to Neal's release on the condition he wear an ankle bracelet monitoring his movements. Neal uses his new position with the FBI to search for Kate, whom he believes is in trouble. Besides forgery and thieving, Neal also appears to have a profound amount of knowledge and fascination with history, clothing, wine, jewels and all types of arts, such as literature, Western paintings and opera.
• Special Agent Peter Burke, played by Tim DeKay, is brilliant at what he does due to his knack for getting into the criminal mind. He apprehends Caffrey and, in return for Caffrey helping him on a difficult case, he later has him released to assist him in catching white-collar criminals. Peter must keep Neal on a short leash as well as make sure Neal doesn't slip into his old ways. He is very committed to his marriage and will not shy away from asking Neal for romantic advice.
• Elizabeth Burke, played by Tiffani Thiessen, is an event planner and Peter's wife. She is supportive and understanding of his work and long hours away. An intelligent woman herself, Elizabeth is able to discuss Peter's cases with him, and at times makes a meaningful contribution to them. She genuinely likes Neal and most of the time gives him the benefit of the doubt when he is in trouble. She also admires his refinement, which comes in handy as she values his opinion on delicacy items, such as foie gras.
• Mozzie, played by Willie Garson, another con-man and close friend of Neal. Mozzie, often called Moz, is perhaps Neal's most trusted confidante. He helps Neal in a variety of ways, including supplying information, analyzing evidence and impersonating various law enforcement agents. Mozzie is the only other person who knows the whole story of Kate's current situation and the clues leading to her. He appears to be a jack of all trades and performs a variety of tasks for Neal. He has a difficult time trusting Peter, whom he nicknames "The Suit".
• Special Agent Lauren Cruz, played by Natalie Morales (Season 1) is a junior agent who requested a transfer to Peter's team. She has admired Peter Burke since college and wrote a paper about Neal while a student at the FBI Academy in Quantico. She often uses her wit to insult Neal, whom she feels needs to be taken down a notch.
• Special Agent Diana Lancing, played by Marsha Thomason (Season 2+, recurring previously) is Peter's trainee; she provides assistance with Peter and Neal's case on the show's pilot episode. Later reassigned to Washington DC, Peter calls on her to covertly help him unravel "Operation Mentor", and determine Fowler's role in Kate's activities.
• Special Agent Clinton Jones played by Sharif Atkins (Season 2+, recurring previously) is Peter's point man who is responsible for carrying out a variety of tasks during the team's investigations, including surveillance. Peter usually gets him to watch over Neal, which annoys him, but he appreciates Neal's unorthodox contributions to the team.

Recurring characters

• Kate Moreau (Alexandra Daddario): Neal's ex-girlfriend, who appears to be acting under the direction of a mysterious man, identifiable only by his 10-year commemorative FBI ring. Kate broke up with Neal while he was still in prison, precipitating his escape. She provides Neal with cryptic clues when she wants to communicate with him, but is not in as much danger as Neal believes. At the end of Season One, she is seen aboard a private jet that explodes as Neal prepares to board it; the second season's premiere notes that she passed away from the incident.
• Special Agent Garrett Fowler (Noah Emmerich): An agent from the Office of Professional Responsibility. Both Neal and Peter believe he is not to be trusted. He heads a task force carrying out the undefined "Operation Mentor", and seems determined to discredit Peter by any means necessary.
• Special Agent Reese Hughes (James Rebhorn): Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Manhattan White Collar Crime Unit. Hughes is supportive of Peter's goals with Neal, although dubious about the wisdom of using Neal as a confidential informant. Hughes risks his career in order to warn Peter of an OPR investigation of him.
• June (Diahann Carroll): The elderly widow of Byron, who ran with the Rat Pack and owned a wardrobe of clothing designed by Sy Devore. She meets Neal at a thrift store. A quick judge of character, she soon offers Neal her guest room. She has two granddaughters: a 22-year-old college art student and an 8-year-old currently in need of a kidney transplant. She is protective of Neal and doesn't care that he is a convicted felon, and even defended him when others thought he ran. Neal and Moz also care for her, shown where they do what they can to help her granddaughter.
• Alex Hunter (Gloria Votsis): A friend of Neal's who helps him steal the music box in order to free Kate. She also works as a black-market fence.

Episodes

Main article: List of White Collar episodes

Season	Episodes	Original Airing			Viewers (in millions)
		Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season
1	14	October 23, 2009	March 9, 2010	2009–2010	4.5
2	16	July 13, 2010	TBA	2010–?

DVD releases

Title	Region 1	Region 4	Bonus Features
Season One	July 13, 2010	August 18, 2010	Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, Commentary, Exclusive Featurettes: "Pro and Con", "A Cool Cat in the Hat", "Nothing But the Truth"

International Distribution

Country	Network	Premiere
Australia	Channel Ten	November 25, 2009
Canada	Bravo!	October 30, 2009
Netherlands	RTL 5
Latin America	Fox	March 9, 2010
United Kingdom	Bravo	April 2010
Italy	Fox Crime Italy	November 25, 2009
Norway	TV 2 Zebra
Thailand	True Series (TrueVisions)
Portugal	FOX Portugal
South Africa	M-Net Series	April 14, 2010
Denmark	TV2	May 23, 2010
Chile	Fox	March 9, 2010
Austria	ORF 1
India	STAR World	June 30, 2010
Israel	yes Stars Action	June 12, 2010

Reception

The New York Times praised the series saying the pilot was "a winsome, quick-paced caper that is part Catch Me if You Can, part Shampoo." Overall saying "White Collar is a witty advertisement for the value of knowing, well, everything — and an object lesson, perhaps, in the benefits of moving on." USA Network spent US$10 million promoting the show.

The Boston Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert thinks he overpraised White Collar:

But after the nicely done pilot, "White Collar" lost its charm. The crime plots, in particular, failed to hold any mystery or offer any satisfying turns. The fall finale did forward an interesting twist regarding the main characters, though, so improvement is still possible.

External links

• Official website
• White Collar at IMDb
• White Collar on X
• White Collar on Facebook