Leverage: Redemption - Nate's Absence Explained

Over the weekend, the team from Leverage returned. In Leverage: Redemption, which airs free on IMDb TV, Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman) reteamed with Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge), Christian Kane (Eliot Spencer), and Parker (Beth Riesgraf). But what happened to Nathan Ford? In the wake of allegations of rape against Leverage star Timothy Hutton, who played Nate, writers had to figure out what they were going to do to write him out, replacing his spot on the lineup card with Harry Wilson (Noah Wyle). This was made more challenging because you couldn't just give him a happy retirement offscreen, since his "happy ending" was always going to be ending up living out his days with Sophie.

That, it turns out, is what he did. He lived out his days with Sophie...but unfortunately for Nate, it was a shorter life than fans might have hoped for him.

The series premiere of Leverage: Redemption reveals that Nathan Ford died about a year ago, leaving Sophie alone in their big house. It's there that she is first approached by the rest of the Leverage team, who suggest that helping victims find justice may help her keep her mind off her recent loss. With the team coming to Sophie and bringing her on board, it gives them a chance to avoid using Hutton's Nate Ford, without losing Sophie, who quit the team to run off together with Nate at the end of the series.

In March 2020, ex-model Sera Johnston claimed that Hutton had raped her in 1983, when she was 14 years old and he was 22. Johnston filed a criminal complaint against Hutton, but Hutton has denied all allegations, claiming that they amounted to an extortion plot.

Nate does get referenced occasionally throughout the series, often in the context of helping Sophie move forward. Briefly, we get an allusion to his heart running hot, likely an indication that Nate died of a heart attack. However, without Hutton's involvement, don't expect any flashbacks, or even a cameo by the "old Nate" painting that used to hang in the Leverage offices, presented to visitors as an image of the company's founder and an ancestor of Nate's.

Given that Harry endeared himself to the team throughout the course of the season, don't expect Nate to show back up if the series gets a second season. If you haven't seen the series yet, you can stream it now on IMDb TV.

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