TV Heartbeat Review!! The Final Season of White Collar Begins on Thursday 11/6! The Long Con is Almost Over!

White Collar premieres this week!

What? Is it still summer?

Well, no. It snowed last week so that’s a very definite “no!”

White Collar, the summer staple, is debuting a season later since filming of White Collar season six was delayed due to contract negotiations for this final season.

Yes, it’s the final season of White Collar!

Thus, I’m excited and sad for this premiere.  However, it’s about time we found out what happened to Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) after he was abducted at the end of last season so I’m more excited at this point (but ask me again when the last episode comes around…)

White Collar has been such a fun show and one that helped launch USA’s original programming slate. Along with slick heists and cons, the show featured great, contrasting characters: Super con man Neal Caffrey (who mayor may not be going legit) is balanced nicely with the loyal, shrewd, family-man FBI Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) who’s tasked with wrangling/rehabilitating Neal. Neal’s paranoid, anti-government partner-in-crime Mozzie (Willie Garson) has his grounded counterparts in Agent Jones (Sharif Atkins) and Agent Barrigan (Marsha Thomason), the straight-up FBI agents. Peter’s perfect marriage with Ellie (Tiffani Thiessen) is a foil for Neal’s revolving door of relationships.

Frustrated and angry after many broken FBI promises to give him his freedom after all the cases he’s helped solve, Neal ended last season at a breaking point and was ready to plan his escape. Of course that was thwarted when he was unexpectedly abducted and shoved into a van with a hood over his head. Ah!!!

Season 6 picks up without skipping a beat! Neal has been kidnapped in a plot connected with the world’s most powerful and elusive thieves, the Pink Panthers. Can Neal get out of this mess?  What is Peter and the FBI going to do when Neal suddenly goes missing and his ankle tracking bracelet goes dead?

Can Mozzie convince the FBI that Neal is in trouble and hasn’t gone on the run?

So many questions and, yes, they get answered in the premiere!  This also nicely sets up the rest of this shortened season which ultimately needs to answer if Neal can win his freedom.  Will the FBI ever let Neal go? If they don’t, will Neal, er, take his freedom anyway? Can he go legit?

So many questions! And there are many complications with an old foe re-surfacing and some new personal complications as well.

Let’s just hope the season doesn’t end up with Neal as a lumberjack, waiting for his next con…

Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay continue to play Neal and Peter with charm and intelligence. I’ll definitely miss Neal and Peter, but it’s good to see that both men have future plans in motion. Matt was recently Emmy-nominated for his heart-breaking turn in The Normal Heart and is getting ready to bring a lot of joy in Magic Mike XXL. Tim is on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as (what else?) a government suit – and a key player in the fate of SHIELD.

With only 6 episodes (half the size of previous seasons), expect this season to move like a rocket. If you’ll miss White Collar when it’s gone, they’ve helpfully provided a map so that the next time you’re in New York City, you can visit some of the memorable locations from favorite episodes.

The final (sob!) season of White Collar begins this Thursday on USA Network!

Stay tuned!

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