Ray Donovan

Ray Donovan
Genre	Crime drama Family drama
Created by	Ann Biderman
Starring	Liev Schreiber Paula Malcomson Eddie Marsan Dash Mihok Steven Bauer Katherine Moennig Pooch Hall Kerris Dorsey Devon Bagby Jon Voight
Composer(s)	Marcelo Zarvos
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	24 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Bryan Zuriff Mark Gordon Ann Biderman
Producer(s)	Allen Coulter
Running time	45–60 minutes
Production company(s)	The Mark Gordon Company Ann Biderman Co. Bider Sweet Productions Showtime Networks
Broadcast
Original channel	Showtime
Original run	June 30, 2013 (2013-06-30) – present (present)
External links
Official website

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.^[1][2][3] The pilot episode broke records of viewership, becoming the biggest premiere of all time on Showtime.^[4] A third season is scheduled to begin on July 12, 2015.^[5][6]

Plot

The show takes place in Los Angeles, California, where Ray Donovan (Liev Schreiber), originally from South Boston, works for the powerful law firm Goldman & Drexler, representing the rich and famous. Donovan is a "fixer": in criminal slang, a person who arranges for bribes or payoffs of corrupt police or government officials, or other criminals, to enable a criminal to avoid punishment. Ray experiences his own problems when his father, Mickey Donovan (Jon Voight), is unexpectedly released from prison, and FBI agents try bringing down Ray and his associates.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Liev Schreiber as Raymond "Ray" Donovan.
• Paula Malcomson as Abby Donovan, Ray's wife.
• Eddie Marsan as Terrence "Terry" Donovan, Ray's older brother. Suffers from Parkinson's disease.
• Dash Mihok as Brendan "Bunchy" Donovan, Ray's younger brother. Identifies himself as an alcoholic and a sexual anorexic.
• Pooch Hall as Daryll Donovan, Ray's younger half-brother (via Mickey and Claudette). A professional boxer, trained by Terry, he also drives limos.
• Steven Bauer as Avi, Ray's right-hand man. Former IDF soldier and ex-Mossad agent.
• Katherine Moennig as Lena, Ray's assistant.
• Kerris Dorsey as Bridget Donovan, Ray's daughter.
• Devon Bagby as Conor Donovan, Ray's son.
• Jon Voight as Mickey Donovan, Ray's father.

Recurring cast

Reception

Ray Donovan has been met with positive reviews from critics. The first season holds a rating of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus reading: "Ray Donovan moves quickly between genres and tones, with Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight's performances making the whiplash worth it".^[9] On Metacritic, the show has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews".^[10] Seasons 1 and 2 hold a combined rating of 4.5 out of 5 on Presto with a critics rating of 80% and a viewer rating of 90%.^[11]

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".^[12]

Awards and nominations

In June 2013, the series was honored, along with five others, with the Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series.^[13]

In December 2013, the series earned two Golden Globe nominations, both for acting. Schreiber was nominated for Best Actor in a Television Drama Series, and Voight won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series. In July 2014, Voight was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Home media release

The first season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 10, 2014.^[14]

References

External links

• Official website
• Ray Donovan at the Internet Movie Database
• Ray Donovan at TV.com
• Ray Donovan at Metacritic
• Ray Donovan at Rotten Tomatoes