Posted in: TV, USA Network | Tagged: matt bomer, White Collar
White Collar Renaissance: Eastin Reveals Series, Pilot Episode Titles
Series creator Jeff Eastin updated fans on how the series revival is going and confirmed the official title: White Collar Renaissance.
In only a little less than four months, there has been some seriously promising movement in terms of a possible return of series creator Jeff Eastin's Tim DeKay (FBI Special Agent Peter Burke) and Matt Bomer (Neal Caffrey)-starring White Collar. Back in June, Variety's TV Fest brought news from Eastin, Bomer, and co-star Tiffany Thiessen that the gang was getting back together for a series return/revival. Two months later, Bomer had some very encouraging words to pass along regarding Eastin's script (more on that below) – and now, Eastin is adding to the good news. "Can report the studio is very happy with the new White Collar script. For those asking if I have a title…," Eatin wrote, attaching a look at the cover to the pilot script, revealing that the series is titled White Collar Renaissance and that the pilot episode is titled "Masquerade."
Here's a look at the cover sheet to the pilot script for White Collar Renaissance that Eastin shared:
While noting that the decision to green-light a revival was "above my pay grade and out of my control," Bomer had a promising update to pass along to PEOPLE during an interview in support of his Emmy nomination for Fellow Travellers in August. "It's fantastic, and it's completely in line and in keeping with the show that we were able to do six seasons of. It really just feels like he was able to pick up the right where we left off," Bomer shared about the script written by Eastin. "It's a really intelligent, fun, organic way to bring all the characters back together to pay tribute to Willie Garson, Diahann Carroll, and folks we've lost since the show ended, which was really important to me."
Bomer added. "It's something that if you enjoyed the show, you really will have a good time watching it." As for why the interest in a return now, Bomer shared that it was all about the folks that he worked with. "So much of that experience was just being with that group of people," he shared. "We worked long hours on that show, and it never felt like work. It was just such a fun, free, open environment and a great place to just create and explore the characters."
Running for six seasons, from 2009 to 2014, the speculation is that the reboot would find a home at Hulu – or whatever combo of Disney+/Hulu might be in play when the project premieres. Though airing on BVCUniversal-owned USA Network, the series IP is owned by Disney after Fox Television Studios was bought by "The Mouse" some years back. As for what viewers can expect from the return storyline-wise, Eastin isn't talking – but noted that 2014's "Au Revoir" (directed by Sanford Bookstaver and written by Eastin, Julian Meiojas, and Eddie Serrano) was left purposefully open-ended. "If you get to the finale, with Neal [Bomer] walking in Paris, that was always the setup. I always left it open, and as the years passed, it seemed more like a distant hope. But say thank you to 'Suits' for starting this streaming trend. They were doing great and got people watching 'White Collar' now on Netflix. That's doing really, really good. Off of that, it's like, 'Hey, let's do another one,'" Eastin shared.