White Collar (TV series)

White Collar is a USA Network 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 that began on July 13, 2010. On September 27, 2010, the USA Network renewed White Collar for a third season with 16 new episodes, which premiered on June 7, 2011.^[1] The series was renewed for a fourth season on August 25, 2011.^[2]

Overview

Neal Caffrey, a con man, forger and thief, is captured after a three-year game of cat and mouse with the FBI. With only months left while serving a four-year sentence,^[3] 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 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

• Matt Bomer as Neal Caffrey^[4] – a skilled forger and thief who was imprisoned after being captured by FBI Special Agent Peter Burke. After his girlfriend, Kate, visits him in prison to end their relationship, Neal escapes from prison in order to find her, but Peter quickly recaptures him. Neal proposes he become an FBI consultant, leading to Neal's release on the condition he wears an ankle monitor monitoring his movements. Neal uses his new position with the FBI to search for Kate, whom he believed to be in trouble. Following her death, Neal uses the FBI's resources to search for her killer and unravel the mystery surrounding the music box. Neal also appears to have considerable knowledge of history, jewelry and the arts, such as literature, Western paintings, and opera, even though it is revealed early in season two that he never graduated from high school. Despite being given the opportunity to build a new, honest life for himself, Neal often craves his old life, forcing him to make a choice between the two. Neal's father was a corrupt police officer; Neal was raised by his mother.
• Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke^[5] – a hard-working, honest FBI agent, and the head of the investigative team on which Neal serves. His ability to predict Neal's actions leads to Neal's capture, a skill he uses with other criminals as well. He is very committed to his marriage and loves his home life. Peter is the person Neal trusts the most, and Peter is determined to convince Neal that an honest life is possible. Following Kate's death, Peter aids in the search for the truth about the music box. Through working with Neal, he has also developed a guarded working relationship with Mozzie. Peter earned a degree in accounting, but was recruited out of college by the FBI, passing over the opportunity to work for a Fortune 500 company.
• Tiffani Thiessen as Elizabeth Burke^[6] – 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 also admires Neal's refinement and tends to see the good in him when Peter does not.
• Willie Garson as Mozzie^[7] – another con-man and close friend of Neal. Mozzie, often called Moz, is Neal's most trusted confidante. Abandoned as a baby, he grew up in an orphanage in Detroit where he learned to be a con-man early. Though lacking Neal's people skills, he appears to be a jack of all trades and has an eidetic memory. Mozzie grew up in foster homes. He is the only other person who knew the whole story of Kate's disappearance and the clues that lead to her. He has a difficult time trusting Peter, referring to him as "The Suit", but occasionally contributes to his investigations. He is also a conspiracy theorist, to the point of being terrified to step into the FBI offices.
• Hilarie Burton as Sara Ellis – an insurance company investigator who testified against Neal when he was on trial for stealing a Raphael painting. Originally determined to catch Neal and see him returned to prison, she later enjoys working with him. She aided in the investigation of the music box. During the investigation, she and Neal embarked on a romantic relationship, complicated by the reappearance of Alex.
• Marsha Thomason as Special Agent Diana Berrigan – previously Peter's probationary agent, Diana assists on Peter and Neal's first case together. Transferred to D.C. after her probation ends, Peter calls on her to covertly help him unravel "Operation Mentor" and determine Fowler's role in Kate's activities. She later returns to the investigative team in New York, where she serves, along with Agent Jones, as Peter's right-hand man.
• Sharif Atkins as Special Agent Clinton Jones – 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.

Supporting characters

• Diahann Carroll as June – an elderly widow who meets Neal at a thrift store. A quick judge of character, she soon offers Neal her guest room. June's husband owned a wardrobe of designer clothing that she gives to Neal. She is protective of Neal and does not care that he is a convicted felon. June also has a close friendship with Mozzie and is often seen talking to him or playing board games.
• Alexandra Daddario as Kate Moreau – Neal's 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, and eventually prepares to reunite with Neal, when the private jet she is aboard explodes.
• Natalie Morales as Special Agent Lauren Cruz^[8] – a junior agent who requested a transfer to Peter's team and served on it briefly.
• Gloria Votsis as Alexandra Hunter – a friend and past lover of Neal's who works as a black market fence and periodically assists on Peter and Neal's cases, including a previous attempt to steal the music box.
• Ross McCall as Matthew Keller, a thief and archrival of Neal. Keller was arrested and jailed by Peter but later escaped and tried to steal the U-boat treasure that Neal and Mozzie have.
• Noah Emmerich as Special Agent Garrett Fowler – a discredited agent from the Office of Professional Responsibility. His abuse of authority in pursuit of Neal and Peter eventually leads to his being forced to resign. Neal believes he is responsible for Kate's death; Peter later learns he is not, and was being blackmailed by an unknown man.
• James Rebhorn as Special Agent Reese Hughes – the agent in charge of the FBI's Manhattan White Collar Crime Unit. Hughes is supportive of Peter's use of Neal as a confidential informant, but less trusting of Neal. Hughes risks his career in order to warn Peter of an OPR investigation of him.
• Andrew McCarthy as Vincent Adler – a wealthy financier who is the subject of a long con soon after Neal and Mozzie get together. Kate was working as Adler's personal assistant when Neal took a job with Adler in order to gain his confidence and get the information needed for the con. Adler taught Neal about personal style and to enjoy an expensive lifestyle. Adler disappeared about two years before Neal first went to prison when it was discovered that he had been running a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. He is shot by Peter after attempting to shoot Neal at the end of season 2.

Awards

White Collar was nominated for a People's Choice Award in the "Favorite TV Obsession" category for 2010 and the "Favorite Cable TV Drama" category for 2011 ^[9][10]

Episodes

DVD releases

The first season of White Collar was released in the US under the title White Collar: The Complete First Season as a widescreen four-disc Region 1 DVD box set on July 13, 2010.^[11] In addition to all the episodes that had been aired, DVD extras included Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, Commentary, Exclusive Featurettes: "Pro and Con", "A Cool Cat in the Hat", and "Nothing But the Truth".^[12] The same set was released on July 26, 2010 in Region 2,^[13] and on August 18, 2010 in Region 4.^[14]

The season two four-disc Region 1 DVD box set was released on June 7, 2011.^[15] DVD extras consist of Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, Episode Commentaries (for episodes 2x09 "Point Blank", 2x12 "Forging Bonds" and 2x16 "Under The Radar") and Exclusive Featurettes: "White Collar Roasts Burn Notice: Rivalry in the Writers' Rooms", "Burn Notice Roasts White Collar: Rivalry in the Writers' Rooms", "Slick Willie", and "So Here's The Deal: Anatomy of an Episode".

References

External links

• Official website
• White Collar at the Internet Movie Database
• White Collar on Twitter
• White Collar on Facebook
• White Collar Wiki