The question of whether White Collar Season 7 will ever be released has remained top of mind for fans for nearly ten years.
The hit USA Network legal procedural came to an end in 2014 with the conclusion of Season 6, closing the book (for now) on the story of FBI Special Agent Peter Burke and his conman informant Neal Caffrey.
Like Suits before it, the drama received a new lease on life in 2024 thanks to its introduction to Netflix's streaming catalog in April.
Is White Collar Season 7 Happening?
Despite White Collar's renewed popularity as all six seasons of the legal drama come to Netflix in the U.S. a Season 7 release remains unannounced.
As of writing, a seventh season of the USA Network series is not in the works, with it ending after Season 6 in December 2014.
That is not to say it will never happen though.
White Collar star Matt Bomer revealed during a virtual reunion for the show in 2020 (via TV Line), "There’s nothing that [he] would want more," than a revival of the TV procedural:
"There’s nothing that I would want more than to be on a set with this group of people again. There are real conversations happening. There seems to be a lot of excitement about it. What form that takes and how it plays out and whether all the creatives involved can work it out and make it happen is yet to be seen. But we’re all really optimistic and hopeful."
He added in a 2023 conversation with TV Line that there has been "very legitimate talk" about returning for a seventh season:
"There has been talk. It’s actually very legitimate talk, it’s in conversation a lot of things need to fall into place, but there is a plan in effect, at least, so we’ll see what happens."
Bomer followed this up in April 2024, further leaning into the idea a White Collar revival will eventually happen.
Appearing on Deadline's The Actor's Side video series (via Collider), the Neal Caffrey actor posited, "I guess it is technically in the works:"
"Yeah, yeah. It is possible. I guess it is technically in the works. You know these things are never quite as easy as you'd want them to be. And pretty much all of that is out of our control. It seems to be that they are moving in the right direction, and it could be a very real thing in the next year or two."
With all that said though, a seventh season remains without any sort of official announcement.
What Could Happen in White Collar Season 7?
If/when White Collar Season 7 does eventually make its way to TV screens, it will have plenty of narrative fodder to chew on in this revival story.
The most shocking twist that came at the end of Season 6 was the jaw-dropping death of Neal Caffrey (played by Matt Bomer).
Keal was killed off after giving up the dangerous criminal organization known as the Pink Panthers to his collaborator in the FBI, Special Agent Peter Burke Tim DeKay.
While the Bureau ended up nabbing the Panther, it left one of the show's biggest names dead in the crossfire.
However, one key beat Season 7 could focus on is the idea of Bomer's character perhaps faking his death and coming back to help the FBI in yet another case.
Some have speculated Neal's death could have been a ruse all along to give him even better cover in informing the FBI on America's most wanted. With him 'dead' criminal organizations like the Pink Panthers will have less of a reason to assume where the information on them is coming from.
One bit of narratively finagling that would have to happen in a potential seventh season revolves around Neal's close compatriot in the art of conning, Mozzie.
Theodore "Moz" Winters (aka Mozzie) was played by Willie Garson in White Collar's original six-season run and was key to many of the series' dramatic proceedings.
Garson sadly passed away in September 2021 after a battle with cancer, so, Mozzie's absence would have to be accounted for.
In his November 2023 conversation with TV Line Matt Bomer, honored the late actor, saying that the show would have to pay tribute to "what [Garson] contributed to the show:"
"Obviously, that’s the first thing that came to my mind, but I felt that what [creator] Jeff Eastin presented to [star] Tim [DeKay] and I honors what he contributed to the show and honors him as a person. There’s no way I would ever be involved with it again if it didn’t do so. So I think it’s a way for him to, in some ways, still be a part of the show."
What that means remains to be seen, but if a White Collar Season 7 does see the light of day, fans can expect some sort of tribute to the character.
White Collar is streaming now on Netflix.
