White Collar cleverly fuses the delicate thrills of the heist genre (where everything has to go just right) with the dogged pursuit of the police procedural (where the police dig until the criminals do something wrong). The ridiculously good-looking Matt Bomer stars as reformed (well, maybe) con artist Neal Caffrey, who works for the FBI under the guidance/control of strait-laced agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay). This odd-couple pair investigate con games, bank robberies, jewel smuggling, political corruption, counterfeiting, corporate skullduggery, and much more, often featuring sneaky undercover activity. The first season ended with Neal's girlfriend getting blown up in an airplane; the thread through the second season follows Neal's investigation of that explosion--along with the mysterious music box, which Neal's partner-in-crime Mozzie (Willie Garson, still best known as Carrie's best pal Sanford from Sex and the City) finally deciphers. At the season's end, an old mentor of Neal's emerges from the shadows, pulling an amazing treasure up from the depths… a treasure that Neal may not be able to resist.

Bomer and DeKay have a nice rapport, and the supporting cast members (including Tiffani Thiessen as Burke's sensible wife, Marsha Thomason and Sharif Atkins as FBI agents, Diahann Carroll as Neal's landlady, and Hilarie Burton, an insurance investigator who becomes a new love interest for Neal) play their parts with a light touch. White Collar is a sprightly show; even its more dramatic scenes are played more for plot momentum than real drama. But, much like with the rogue covert agent show Burn Notice, that lightness is part of the charm. Think of it as the snack cracker of television; nothing you want to see all the time, but when you get a taste, it's hard not to empty the box. --Bret Fetzer