At long last, Showtime has announced aRay Donovanmovie that will be co-written by its star,Liev Schreiber, who will once again feud withJon Voight’s rascally deadbeat dad Mickey Donovan.
The new film picks up where Season 7 left off, with Mickey in the wind and Ray determined to find and stop him before he can cause any more carnage. It will also weave together the present-day fallout from the Donovan-Sullivan feud with Ray and Mickey’s origin story from 30 years ago.
The latter note is especially interesting, asJames Woodsplayed Patrick “Sully” Sullivan back in Season 1, so I wonder if he’ll appear in flashbacks. The only other confirmed cast member at this point isKerris Dorsey, who plays Ray’s daughter, Bridget, but you have to imagine that Ray’s three (possibly four) siblings will be back in some capacity as well – not to mention his late wife, Abby (Paula Malcomson).
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Veteran showrunnerDavid Hollanderwill direct theRay Donovanmovie and co-write the script alongside Schreiber, and the two of them will also executive produce the film along withMark Gordon,Bryan ZuriffandLou Fusaro. Production is expected to begin later this year in New York.
“WhenRay Donovanwent off our air after seven great seasons, we heard from so many of its loyal fans that they were not ready to say goodbye to Ray and the wonderfully dysfunctional Donovan clan, and so, for them, we are delighted that Liev and David are creating a thrilling new chapter of this iconic series," Showtime’sGary Levinesaid in a statement.
Over the course of 82 episodes, the hit drama won Voight a Golden Globe for his turn as the Donovan family patriarch, if you will, while Schreiber earned five Globe nominations as well as three Emmy noms for his bruising turn as the title character, who always seemed to keep a baseball bat nearby, just in case.
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TheRay Donovanmovie comes on the heels of Showtime’s 10-episode revival ofDexter, and I think it’s only fair that if the network is givingMichael C. Hall10 hours to fix his show’s disappointing series finale, Schreiber deserves two hours to endRay Donovanthe right way. I’m also encouraged by the fact that he’s co-writing the script, as I loved his adaptation ofEverything Is IlluminatedbyJonathan Safran Foer.
Now, I know what you’re thinking.Ray Donovanis just a show that your Dad watches on Sunday nights. And my Dad does too. But I’ve been with the show from the beginning myself, and there have only been a few times where it felt a little long in the tooth. I feel like Season 7 left a little something on the table, as the cancellation did seem to catch its cast and crew by surprise, and I’m wicked glad Showtime is giving everyone – especially audiences – the opportunity to say goodbye to these characters the right way.
There’s no word yet on when theRay Donovanmovie will hit Showtime, but don’t worry, we’ll keep you posted…
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