In the new television series “Leverage,” scheduled to premiere Sunday night at 10 on TNT, Academy-Award-winning actor Timothy Hutton fills the shoes of a resentful ex insurance investigator who finds redemption in the act of crime. Thus, he thinks that he will discover the right way if he chooses the dark path, which consists of misdemeanors and robberies. This is what I call odd personal beliefs.

In spite of the fact that “Leverage” is far from being a remake, the new show more or less resembles “Hustle”, a flashy British sham-related series that has much in common with “Topkapi,” as well as with “Ocean’s Eleven,” which seems to have inspired the TNT con-artist program too.

Following the formula of several series, “Leverage” sees its main character, Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton), lead a gang of thieves who rob the self-seeking rich and give the fortunes to the less fortunate. Well, our Robin Hood is so determined to make justice that he refuses to back off even when his safety is in danger. He considers that he has nothing else to lose, as he has already lost his son because his company did not accept to pay for experimental treatment. Therefore, Nate Ford opposes financial inequality and corporate ravenousness and he and his professional con-artist colleagues are prepared to make things right and establish order in the midst of chaos.

Nate Ford represents the tragically comic character of the show, as he switches from one mood to another in a jiffy and drinks too much and too often. You either see him mad or admire his serenity while he enjoys a strong shot. However, alcohol is the refuge he turns to whenever his grief overwhelms him, since losing a child is perhaps the worst disaster for an ordinary individual.

The actor who was awarded with a best supporting Oscar almost three decades ago for his role in “Oridnary People” manages to offer his little-screen persona an incredible charm, in spite of its flaws and vices. Nate Ford’s co-workers (if we can call them workers) are Parker (Beth Riesgraf), an indecisive thief, Alec (Aldis Hodge), a hacking expert, Eliot (Christian Kane), a broad-spectrum crook and Sophie (Gina Bellman), a self-assumed actress. Although the members of the team have quarrels all the time, they form an homogenous squad that emanates charisma and magnetism throughout the first episode of the series.

Nevertheless, even when “Leverage” deals with grave matters, such as the exploitation of a reservist, the dark tone is quirky and often satirical and is not able to deliver the soberness it aims to transmit.