‘Thieves’: Stolen Moments

Any resemblance between the new ABC series “Thieves” and classic movies and TV series such as “The Thin Man,” “To Catch a Thief,” “Hart to Hart,” “Remington Steele” and “Moonlighting” is purely deliberate.

In “Thieves,” John Stamos and Melissa George play two master thieves who are forced into stealing on behalf of the U.S. government after the two are caught committing a crime. The plots are extraneous to the snappy banter, sexual tension and battle-of-the-sexes bickering between Stamos’ Johnny, a thief who doesn’t like guns or using his fists, and George’s Rita, who is as glamorous as she is fearless. While Johnny is of the old school, Rita uses sophisticated gadgets, dynamite and even a few nasty karate kicks to get the job done. Just think of the duo as the Nick and Nora Charles or the Dave and Maddie for the 21st century.

Stamos, who is an executive producer of “Thieves,” initially wanted to do a series in the mold of Alfred Hitchcock’s sophisticated 1955 crime caper “To Catch a Thief,” in which Cary Grant portrayed a suave former cat burglar, or the 1999 remake of the romantic thriller “The Thomas Crown Affair,” starring Pierce Brosnan.

“I was sitting not much longer than a year ago with the guys from Warner Bros. [Television], and I said I wanted to play a thief and a con artist,” Stamos recalled. He then approached Jim Leonard to create the show. The year before, Stamos had worked with Leonard on an unsold pilot in which he played a detective.

“He came on the project, and I think he really found my voice or knew my voice,” Stamos said. “But as the script developed, at first I was like, ‘Wait a minute! This isn’t Cary Grant or Pierce Brosnan. This is a guy who wants to be those guys.’ ”

Stamos quickly realized Leo-nard’s twist on the sophisticated thief was a smart idea. “Johnny became the character I’ve always dreamed of playing, which is kind of a flawed guy. We have kind of developed him into having those qualities that I love in all the old movie stars: a great sense of humor about themselves. He’s not afraid to make fun of himself. He’s not afraid to look weak and silly. That is what I love most about it.”

As Stamos and Leonard were working on “Thieves,” executive producer Arnold Kopelson (“Platoon,” “The Fugitive”) was mulling over a similar idea for a series. Peter Roth, president of Warner Bros. Television, brought Kopelson together with Stamos and Leonard. “We hit it off immediately,” Kopelson said. “We shared the same views of what the show should be like. We wanted the excitement, the action, the intrigue, the sexuality and banter between the two of them. We really lucked out. The chemistry between the two is extraordinary.”

The Australian-born George, who appeared in the teen flick “Sugar and Spice,” believes “Thieves” is a lot sexier and more contemporary than the 1980s “Moonlighting.” Rita, George said, is the very model of a modern-day woman. “She is equally fragile as she is strong. She is very much a bit of both, and she likes to be seen as both. I think that is what a woman wants today: to be seen as vulnerable but strong.”

The producers auditioned practically every actress of a certain age for Rita. “Melissa came in, and she was kind of the only girl who put me in my place,” Stamos said, laughing. “She gave me a run for my money.”

The creative team and stars vow “Thieves” won’t fall into the trap that eventually destroyed “Remington Steele” and “Moonlighting.” Both of those series lost their unique appeal and ultimately their fans when the producers decided to turn the bickering characters into lovers.

“It’s going to be the challenge of the show,” Stamos said.

“I think we can play this for a long time without these guys actually sleeping together,” Leonard said. “I kind of want them to get married--but just for an episode where they have to avoid testifying against each other.”

“Thieves” can be seen Fridays at 9 p.m. on ABC. It premieres this Friday.