White Collar (TV series)

Premise

Neal Caffrey, a renowned con artist, forger, and thief, is captured after a three-year game of cat and mouse with FBI Special Agent Peter Burke, head of the White Collar Crimes Unit in New York City. Convicted and sentenced to four years, Caffrey escapes with four months left to find his girlfriend, Kate. Burke recaptures him, and Caffrey proposes a deal: he will help Burke apprehend dangerous white collar criminals and provide full-time consultation in exchange for early release under a work-release program. Burke agrees, and Caffrey becomes an FBI consultant and informant, leading to an unconventional partnership.

Release

ION Television acquired syndication rights for White Collar in 2013, alongside Burn Notice, making it the third USA Network series on ION after Monk and Psych. The first season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 1 on July 13, 2010, with Region 2 and Region 4 releases following later that year. Subsequent season DVD box sets were released: season two on June 7, 2011; season three on June 5, 2012; season four on October 8, 2013; season five on November 4, 2014; and season six on May 5, 2015.

Reception

For the first season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10 based on 27 reviews, with the critical consensus calling it a witty, briskly-paced caper series. Metacritic assigned a score of 79 out of 100, indicating generally favorable reviews. The second season received a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 13 reviews, with praise for its charismatic cast and compelling crimes. The third season also scored 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from 10 reviews, with a consensus highlighting its prestige pedigree and focus on relationship stakes; Metacritic gave it a 72 out of 100.

The fourth season earned a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 12 reviews, noted for action, intrigue, and handsomeness. The fifth season had an 83% approval rating from 6 reviews, and the sixth season received 100% from 5 reviews. At the People's Choice Awards, the series was nominated for Favorite TV Obsession and Favorite Dramedy in 2011 and 2015, and for Favorite TV Cable Drama from 2012 to 2014. Matt Bomer won Favorite TV Cable Actor in 2015.

Diahann Carroll was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama series at the Image Awards in 2012 and 2014. Tim DeKay and Matt Bomer were both nominated for Favorite Duo at the TV Guide Awards in 2014. Matt Bomer was nominated in the Cause You're Hot category at the NewNowNext Awards in 2010. Regan Mizrahi was nominated for Best Performance in a TV Series - Guest Starring Young Actor at the Young Artist Awards in 2012.

The pilot received a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Television Pilot - Drama at the Casting Society of America Awards in 2010.

Reboot

On May 6, 2020, series creator Jeff Eastin tweeted that he had a plan to bring White Collar back, but Fox 21 Television Studios was not working on a revival at that time, and plans were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A reboot was confirmed to be in the works on June 6, 2024, written by Eastin with involvement from Bomer, DeKay, and Thiessen. Eastin stated the reboot would be titled White Collar Renaissance and would honor the late Willie Garson.