Ray Donovan


Ray Donovan is an American television crime drama series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The twelve-episode first season premiered on June 30, 2013. The pilot episode broke viewership records, becoming the biggest premiere of all time on Showtime. On February 4, 2020, Showtime cancelled the series after seven seasons.
The drama is set primarily in Los Angeles, California and primarily in New York City, New York. The main character is Irish American Ray Donovan, originally from South Boston, who works for the powerful law firm Goldman & Drexler, representing the rich and famous. Donovan is a crime cleaner or fixer who arranges bribes, payoffs, threats and other illegal activities, to ensure the outcome desired by the client. Good at his job, he is also normally devoted to his children and brothers, but has a complicated relationship with his wife. He experiences problems when his menacing father, Mickey Donovan, is unexpectedly released from prison, as the FBI attempts to bring him and his associates down.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

On February 4, 2020, Showtime cancelled the series after seven seasons.
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.
A week later, Liev Schreiber commented on his Instagram that due to fans' support and activity in media, there "will be more ''Ray Donovan".
On March 23, Dash Mihok commented on his Twitter that he didn't have any information or idea about continuation of the series and didn't think it would happen anytime soon, following COVID-19 pandemic.
On July 19, 2020, Liev Schreiber commented that they were still working on it.

Home media

The first season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 10, 2014. The second season was released on both media on May 26, 2015. The third season was released on DVD and blu-ray on December 29, 2015. The fourth season was released on DVD on December 27, 2016. The fifth season saw a DVD release on January 30, 2018.

Reception

------

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". Metacritic gives the first season a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews".
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".

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryRecipientsResult
2013Critics' Choice Television AwardsMost Exciting New SeriesRay Donovan
2014Satellite AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries, or Television FilmJon Voight
2014Critics' Choice Television AwardsBest Supporting Actor in a Drama SeriesJon Voight
2014Golden Globe AwardsBest Actor in a Television Series – DramaLiev Schreiber
2014Golden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries, or Television FilmJon Voight
2014Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama SeriesJon Voight
2014Writers Guild of America AwardsBest New SeriesRay Donovan
2015Golden Globe AwardsBest Actor in a Television Series – DramaLiev Schreiber
2015Golden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries, or Television FilmJon Voight
2015Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama SeriesLiev Schreiber
2016Satellite AwardsBest Actor – Television Series DramaLiev Schreiber
2016Satellite AwardsBest Television Series – DramaRay Donovan
2016Golden Globe AwardsBest Actor in a Television Series – DramaLiev Schreiber
2016Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama SeriesLiev Schreiber
2016Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama SeriesJon Voight
2016Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Directing for a Drama SeriesDavid Hollander
2016Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series Harrison Marsh, Robert Edmondson, R. Russell Smith
2016Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Guest Actor in a Drama SeriesHank Azaria
2017Canadian Society of Cinematographers AwardsTV Series CinematographyRobert McLachlan
2017Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama SeriesLiev Schreiber
2017Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Guest Actor in a Drama SeriesHank Azaria

OWIKI.org. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.