Ray Donovan is an American crime drama television series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The drama, starring Liev Schreiber in the title role, is set primarily in Los Angeles (during seasons 1–5) and in New York City (during seasons 6–7). The main character, Ray Donovan, is a professional "fixer" who arranges bribes, payoffs, threats, crime-scene clean-up, and other illegal activities to protect his (usually) celebrity clients. Good at his job, he is also normally devoted to his children and brothers but has a complicated relationship with his wife. He encounters problems when his menacing father, Mickey Donovan (Jon Voight), is unexpectedly released from prison. The FBI attempts to bring down Mickey and his associates, and Donovan struggles to escape the undertow.
The series' twelve-episode first season premiered on June 30, 2013.[1][2][3] The pilot episode broke viewership records, becoming the biggest premiere of all time on Showtime.[4] In February 2020, the series was cancelled after seven seasons. The show's storyline concluded with the feature-length Ray Donovan: The Movie, which premiered on January 14, 2022, on Showtime.[5][6][7]
On February 4, 2020, Showtime cancelled the series after seven seasons.[5]
The series was cancelled without any advance warning, leaving fans and showrunner David Hollander in shock. Season 8 was supposed to have been the final season, and Hollander already had a plan in place creatively for the story.[13][14]
A week later, Liev Schreiber wrote on his Instagram account that due to fans' support and activity in media, there was a possibility for Ray Donovan to return.[15]
On August 19, Schreiber commented on his Instagram that "an RD finale/movie" was being written.[16]
On February 24, 2021, Showtime announced a feature-length film to conclude the storyline, to premiere in 2022, with David Hollander directing it and co-writing with Schreiber.[6] The network brought them the idea of a film after fans' outrage. The two-hour format gave them an ability "to work in very cinematic language".[17] Beside the original cast returning, Chris Petrovski, AJ Michalka, David Patrick Kelly and Chris Gray had joined the film.[18][19][20][21]
On November 22, the official trailer and poster for the film, titled Ray Donovan: The Movie were released, with a premiere date of January 14, 2022 and tagline "You can't outrun your legacy".[7]
Home media
Paramount Home Entertainment (under the Showtime label) released the first season on DVD and Blu-ray on June 10, 2014.[22] The second season was released on both media on May 26, 2015, and the third season released on December 29, 2015. Further seasons were released only on DVD. The fourth season saw a release on December 27, 2016, the fifth season on January 30, 2018, the sixth season came out on April 9, 2019, and the seventh season on May 5, 2020.[23]
Remakes
In 2021, Netflix India announced that it would broadcast a remake of the series, titled Rana Naidu with starring Rana Daggubati and his uncle Venkatesh. The series was produced by Locomotive Global and the format rights are licensed by ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group (now Paramount Global Content Licensing), with Karan Anshuman as showrunner and director and Suparn Verma as co-director.[24]
In 2023, Ronan Bennett will write and create a British remake series for Paramount+ titled Guy Ritchie's The Associate, while Guy Ritchie will direct and executive produce the series.[25][26] In October 2024, it was reported that Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan were in final negotiations to star in the project.[26]
Ray Donovan has received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season a rating of 77% based on reviews from 43 critics, with the site's consensus stating: "Ray Donovan moves quickly between genres and tones, with Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight's performances making the whiplash worth it".[27]Metacritic gives the first season a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews".[28]
Tim Goodman, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, said that "Showtime has another gem on their hands" and the casting of Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight was "gold".[36]
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