Hustle: Season 1

The con is on.

From the creators of MI-5, Hustle is an action-packed blend of humor and intrigue, following the fortunes of a gang of expert cons on the loose in London. They extract cash from the amoral and the undeserving. They have just one rule: You can never con an honest man.

Hustle boasts a solid ensemble cast including Robert Vaughn (Superman III), Adrian Lester (Spider Man 3, The Day After Tomorrow), Marc Warren (Green Street Hooligans, Band of Brothers), Robert Glenister and Jaime Murray. Includes all 6 episodes from Season 1. As seen on AMC.

"This stylish British export about a crew of flimflam men and women - think 'Ocean's Eleven' - arrives with an impressive pedigree." - TV Guide

Mickey Stone is fresh out of jail. His marriage is on the rocks, but he has a strong family to fall back on. That family - Albert and Ash, two old-timers who look like butter wouldn't melt in their mouths; and beautiful, street-sharp Stacie - are his partners in crime. Coming together to perform one last con, they hook up with young blood Danny Blue, a rookie with the makings of a master - but after the first last one, there have just got to be more. Criminals with consciences, playing tricks with trust, the hustlers are likeable, loveable rogues evoking the wit and warmth of Ocean's Eleven.

Episode 1 - Mickey Stone, master of the long con, is back to his old ways after a two-year stint in prison and is intent on pulling his old gang – Ash, Stacie and Albert – back together for one final score.However, the police are watching, determined to nail every fraud office’s most wanted grafter: Mickey “Bricks” Stone. The mark is Peter Williams (James Laurenson), a greedy businessman who jumps at the chance to make a fortune from an illegal shares scam – all he has to do is invest £100,000 in cash.The team convinces Williams that the scam is foolproof, that there’s no way he can lose, and he takes the bait.The gang’s newest recruit, Danny Blue, shows an instant flair for the long con, but his loyalty is tested to the extreme when the police, who are watching the gang’s every move, make him an offer: grass up the rest and he’ll not be charged himself. But is Danny really only interested in looking after number one?

Episode 2 - Albert is caught cheating in a high-stakes poker game and is hospitalised after a bad beating by casino owner Frank Gorley (Robert Pugh), prompting the team to seek revenge. Gorley a very dangerous adversary, a renowned thug and loner. He is also careful with his money, and has no known vices. The real challenge for Mickey and his crew is finding a way in. The discovery that Gorley is a movie aficionado, dazzled by the silver screen, gives them their opportunity. It’s also a chance for Danny to prove his worth to the team and take on the role of the inside man, whilst Mickey has his mind on more personal matters.While Albert is busy fleecing hospital patients, Stacie poses as a famous film actress and Danny poses as a big-time American film producer in need of an urgent cash investment for his film. It’s not long before Danny ensnares the star-struck Gorley and gets his greedy juices running whilst they reel him in for the big one...

Episode 3 - Danny plays art dealer as the gang pick sharp-tongued gallery owner, Meredith Gates (Orla Brady), as their next mark. Gates is a huge fan of artist Piet Mondrian and thinks nothing of splashing out £250,000 on one of his paintings. Mondrian famously went from picture-postcard paintings to abstracts some time after Picasso and, as Danny explains to the team, if a Mondrian were discovered in the Abstract style pre-dating Picasso, it would turn the art world on its head.The gang enlists the help of top art forger,Tip Jones (Brian Pettifer), to paint a new Mondrian which will fool even the most knowledgeable experts long enough for the team to get their payout. However, Gates is very astute when it comes to art and it seems that the team may have bitten off more than they can chew with the feisty collector; they have to be on top of their game if they’re going to come out of this one unscathed.

Episode 4 - Victor Maher (David Calder), a hard-nosed ex-fraud squad officer (and the only man to have ever nailed Albert Stroller), is on Mickey’s case in the latest episode of the drama which follows the fortunes of a gang of major-league con artists. Maher has damming evidence on Danny Blue and is prepared to use it if he doesn’t get what he wants. He demands that Mickey help him catch Sam Richards (Richard Harrington), a thief who is breaking into branches of the bank for which Maher works as head of security. Mickey is loathed to even give Maher the time of day and tries every way possible to get out of helping him, but the cunning ex-copper is always one step ahead, leaving Mickey with no choice. Mickey’s team don’t do bank jobs, so the gang is surprised when he fills them in on their next scam. Albert is more concerned about the risk Mickey is taking; Maher is proud of his conviction record and nothing would please him more than to be the one to nail Mickey “Bricks” Stone. Meanwhile, Stacie is charged with keeping Danny away from the action and, after a day of scamming smarmy shopkeepers, including unashamed snob Paul (David Walliams – Little Britain), they end up having a steamy game of strip poker. Later, against his better judgement, Albert ropes Sam in on the scam, just like any other con, promising to introduce him to Ash, posing as an alarms expert. However, once Sam explains the personal reasons behind his bank breaking, Mickey changes his allegiance and the team is out to wreak revenge on the increasingly smug Maher. But with CCTV, armed guards and only one entrance/exit, this bank job proves to be the hardest and riskiest scam yet for Mickey and his team.

Episode 5 - Katherine Winterborn (Tamzin Outhwaite – EastEnders, Red Cap), a hard-nosed, high-powered businesswoman, doesn’t even flinch when scandalous stories appear in the press about her supposed revenge on her now ex-husband, Steven (Ben Miles). Albert, an expert at charming even the hardest of marks, finds the ice maiden as frosty as her reputation proclaims. Only blatant sex appeal can break down Katherine’s barriers, and Mickey is the man for the job. It’s a scam they desperately need to pull off, not only because their stash of cash is running low, but also because Ash’s ex-wife and old grifter colleague, June (Elizabeth Rider), is suffering from brain damage and Ash needs to pay for her nursing care. Once Mickey finds out about June’s predicament, he and the gang pull together and decide to donate proceeds from the scam to pay for June’s care – after all, she is like family to the gang and they always look after their own. On a sexually charged date with Katherine, Mickey spins a line so convincing, she is keen to invest more than just her money. After a few drinks, her softer and more vulnerable side becomes evident and she reveals the full horror of what she went through in her marriage to Steven and his controlling, violent nature. Later, Mickey decides that the team is targeting the wrong person so they set about bringing down Steven’s empire. But if Mickey has made the fatal mistake of letting his personal feelings cloud his judgement, it could spell disaster for the team’s plans.

Episode 6 - Mickey and Danny complete the “sale” of one of London’s top tourist attractions to arrogant, fairground owner Arthur Bond (Philip Jackson), who couldn’t be happier with his new star attraction. As cons go, this seemed to be one of their easiest scams yet. Albert has already lined up the gang’s next mark – Anthony Reeves (David Haig) – a greedy, secret gambler with a weakness for prostitutes and a recent recipient of a £500,000 golden handshake. Albert has befriended Reeves through his gentleman’s club and introduces Danny as a nephew with contacts in the racing field. Reeves is roped into what could be a lucrative betting scam once he meets Stacie, who poses as a high-class escort and a friend of Danny’s. Once Ash has set up his temporary elite betting club, the gang is intent on luring Reeves into gambling his golden handshake on a horse they know will lose at their phoney bookies, netting them Reeves’ entire windfall. But just as they have got rid of Reeves and are about to check out their haul, they receive a surprise visit from a gunwielding, vengeful Arthur Bond. He wants his money back and he wants blood – and Arthur Bond always gets what he wants.

Mickey “Bricks” Stone	---	Adrian Lester
Albert Stroller	---	Robert Vaughn
Danny Blue	---	Marc Warren
Ash Morgan	---	Robert Glenister
Stacie Monroe	---	Jaime Murray
Billy Bond	---	Ashley Walters
Eddie	---	Rob Jarvis
Rachel	---	Sara Carver

Created and Written by Tony Jordan, Matthew Graham, Ashely Pharoah,
Directed by Otto Bathurst, Bharat Nalluri, Minkie Spiro, Alrick Riley, John Strickland, S.J. Clarkson, Colm McCarthy,Stefan Schwartz, Robert Bailey
Produced by Simon Crawford Collins, Karen Wilson, Lucy Robinson, Jolyon Symonds
Executive Produced by Jane Featherstone, Simon Crawford Collins, Gareth Neame, John Yorke
Original Music by Magnus Fiennes, Beatguru
Costume Design by Iain Macaulay

“Hustle is the most surprising and purely enjoyable new British drama series in years.” -The Times

“...effortlessly stylish, intriguing and hip.” -San Francisco Chronicle

“Stylish, sexy and sly ... clever, complex stories and a wry, brooding cast.”- Montreal Gazette

“The last time I enjoyed myself this much, I put a ladder in my orthopaedic tights. It’s a classy show, superbly filmed, with a taught script and marks a welcome return for veteran actor Robert Vaughan.” -Journal

“The plot is good, the dialogue snappy and there’s plenty of humour. Best of all, though, is the casting ... Immoral, stylish fun, pitched perfectly for the Noughties.”- Observer

“Super-slick and endlessly entertaining.” Liverpool Post

“...engaging, well-acted, snappily directed ... a tight hour of drama, sleekly edited, flatteringly lit, and stylishly executed.”- The Times

“...all the crooks are so attractive in their different ways – femme fatale, cheeky chappy, man from UNCLE and so on – that there is never any doubt about who the audience will be rooting for.” -The Times

“Adrian Lester was Stone and exuded such cool you could almost see the frost on his shoulders. I always love Marc Warren, who played Danny Blue – he is totally believable in the role of like able rogue. And Robert Glenister, as Ashley Morgan was spot on. But the real star – and what a coup this was – was Robert Vaughan as Albert Stroller, the roper or, rather, the one who finds the mark’, the target. He was slick, he was smooth – and it was all so effortless. Great to see him back on our screens.”- Liverpool Daily Echo

“Stylish ... Hustle oozed high production values from the retro opening credits onwards, enough exciting plot twists, some of them unexpected, to fill more than the alloted hour, glittering sets and moody lighting, a groovy (jazz!) soundtrack and a cast that additionally included the original Man From U.N.C.L.E., Robert Vaughn.”- Financial Times

“It is smart as new paint and shiny as a sixpence, and it wears its many cinematic antecedents very lightly ... Everything about Hustle is knowing and carefully tailored for maximum impact. It lacks a definite article which makes it very much of today, but it pays careful reverence to the fashionable ‘70s with its glitzy title sequences and old-fashioned techniques such as the wipe, the fade and the iconic presence of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. himself, Mr Robert Vaughn. The dialogue sets up the rules of the con with no cliché left unturned ... And, every now and then, time stops so the gang can literally and metaphorically wink at the viewer and say: ‘Isn’t this all fun? Aren’t you enjoying just how clever we are?’ Given this level of manipulation, not to mention the over-eager fanfares announcing its arrival, Hustle should be an abject failure. But ... it is not. It’s as empty as a robbed safe and so brittle that it makes Ocean’s Eleven look like a masterpiece of psychological depth, but it is also incredibly watchable and curiously endearing.” -Daily Telegraph

“It’s pacy, it’s pretty, it’s as slick as the Exxon Valdez.”- Guardian

“It is utterly implausible, with gaping holes in which you could bury scores of bodies never to be found. But it matters not a jot. After all, nobody watched The Man From U.N.C.L.E in the belief that they were watching reality television; likewise Hustle which, with its outstanding cast, is pure entertainment ... As with The Usual Suspects, when you look back, all the clues are there; but so caught up was I in the fantastically stylish Hustle, they washed over me at the time. I loved it.” -Mail On Sunday

“ Sleek, stylish and flamboyantly amoral ... like an accomplished easy read for a long journey.” -Daily Telegraph

“...it’s well-made, fast moving and, with its good looking lads and ladies and sharp suits, very easy on the eye...”- Liverpool Daily Echo

“The great achievement of Hustle is that it tells the same tale in every episode, and it gets you every time. Long may the con continue.” -The Times

“It was certainly slick. The animated opening titles were reminiscent of those flashy Sixties caper films like The Pink Panther (or more recently, Catch Me If You Can). The cast, too, was a canny mixture of old favourites ... The conmen (and one conwoman) had all the David Mamet lingo ... From Spooks producer Simon Crawford-Collins, you’d expect nothing less than a well-crafted piece of hokum – and that’s exactly what it was. The programme followed a lot of the corny path set by previous heist movies – slide presentations, skyline heart-to-heart scenes, knowing glances to camera, fake coppers. But the familiarity, the coincidences and the loopholes didn’t particularly detract from the watching pleasure. “ -Independent On Sunday

“Slickly-made, expertly-cast...”- Mirror
“The most likeable feature of Hustle is the way in which it has turned into a conspiracy between the actors and the audience. The actors sometimes talk directly to the camera and share jokes with the viewers - you almost expect them to wink and lob in asides. That is not to suggest it isn’t slick, clever and professional, but it refuses to take itself too seriously. There is a delicious pleasure in seeing actors enjoy themselves, even more so when they allow viewers to join in the merriment.” -The Times

“Any show that looks as if it’s shot in old Technicolor, twists like a rabbit at a hairpin bend and has the courage not only to factor in a fantasy dance routine, but has a versatile cast quick-stepped enough to carry it off, deserves a ratings triumph.”- Scotsman