Ray Donovan lives, Showtime reviving series for a follow-up film
By Mads Lennon
Like a phoenix, Ray Donovan has risen from the ashes. Showtime is reviving the series for a follow-up film. The news comes after vicious fan backlash against the premium cable series for canceling the series without giving it a chance to conclude the story properly.
Deadline reports that Showtime has ordered a feature-length film with star Liev Schreiber set to return as Donovan. Schreiber will also co-write the film script alongside series showrunner David Hollander, who will direct. The movie is expected to pick up where the seventh season left off.
Showtime’s decision to ax its successful, critically-acclaimed series with limited notice is still a head-scratcher. At the very least, the cabler should have ordered a truncated eighth season so that fans could see how it was all meant to end.
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In the era of streaming, successful shows are rarely canceled in their prime without, at the very least, getting ample time to wrap up. Of course, we’ve seen that happen to a few series because of COVID (RIP GLOW), but that wasn’t the case for Ray Donovan. When the series was canceled in February of last year, the show’s creative team admitted to being “blindsided” by the decision.
As Deadline notes, Schreiber promised his fans on social media that the show would continue somehow, so it looks like he’s made good on that promise.
And since Showtime has an app where their shows stream, you’d think they would want newcomers to check out the show — no one wants to watch something with a bad ending. Nonetheless, they seem to have learned from their mistake.
Apart from Schreiber, Kerris Dorsey and Jon Voight will also return to reprise their roles as Ray’s daughter Bridget and Mickey Donovan, respectively.
When can fans expect the Ray Donovan film to premiere?
Everything is still up in the air right now amid the pandemic, but it sounds like production for the show is planned to start later this spring in New York. Things could change, but if all goes according to plan, the film might air as early as this winter, although I would anticipate Showtime holding it until early 2022.
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You can currently watch all seven seasons of Ray Donovan on the Showtime app, Peacock TV or Amazon Prime Video.