Hustle

- Season 1

(2004)

In London, two teams are formed and prepare their operations, destined as adversaries. Michael 'Mickey Bricks' Stone is out of jail after two years for an unrelated offense; everybody knows he will do at least once more what he's good in, in fact the best in Britain: the intricate 'long con', always prepared by his American associate Albert Stroller, who finds and gains the confidence of a wealthy mark; their other known cahoots are Ash Morgan and Stacie Monroe. Meanwhile in the police force, a new man is stepping in as new head of the task force to catch them; his ...

Albert Stroller is severely beaten by a vicious casino owner, Frank Gorley, after being caught cheating at cards. The team decide to get their revenge by scamming Gorely for a load of money. Finding Gorley's weakness - he's a film buff who particularly likes old black and white movies from the '40s and '50s -the team sets up an elaborate quick-money scheme for him to invest in a film. They also let Danny play the lead in their elaborate charade, a first for him in a long con.

The team focus on the art world and specifically Meredith Gates, an art collector and dealer who is an expert on the works of Mondrian. The plan is to produce a forged Mondrian that would show he experimented with cubism long before Picasso. Having found their forger, they must now provide him with period-specific materials while at the same time setting the trap for Gates. What they do not realize is that they too are being set up and may end up with nothing.

Mickey Stone find himself being blackmailed by Victor Maher into helping him catch a bank robber. Maher has an old videotape of Danny Blue involved in a robbery and unless Mickey agrees to help, he will turn it over to the police. Maher spent his career in the fraud squad and is now head of security for Moores Bank. He knows that Sam Richards will soon try to rob the their main London Branch and want Mickey to get a member of his team in on the robbery. Albert Stroller, who has had dealings with Maher in the past, warns Mickey that the ex-cop is very good at what he ...

The con artists set their sights on Katherine Winterbourne a very rich woman, now divorced, whose nasty reputation is well deserved. In her ongoing battle with her now ex-husband, she even killed his dogs. The team's plan is to use her hatred of her ex against her. They set themselves up as investors planning to build a luxury hotel that would compete directly with that of her ex-husband's. Her desire for further revenge is such that she insists on investing in the scheme. As Mickey gets to know her however, he comes to believe that they are scamming an honest person ...

The mark is Anthony Reeves who has just received a controversial half-million pound payout on being fired from his most recent job. Reeves loves the horses so the team set him up for The Wire - convince him that they are getting race information before it's being made available publicly thereby ensuring a win. The scam works well until one of their previous victims decides he wants his money back. Meanwhile, Danny has an amusing crisis of confidence when a new receptionist refuses to go out with him.