'Ray Donovan' Movie In The Works At Showtime, Dads Everywhere Rejoice
Showtime's series Ray Donovan came to an end at the beginning of 2020. But the story of the professional fixer played by Liev Schreiber isn't over. Ray Donovan will return in a feature film that will debut on Showtime and finish what the series started.
Showtime announced the Ray Donovan movie will begin production later this year in New York. The original series followed the titular character's life as a professional fixer who arranges menacing bribes, payoffs, threats, crime-scene clean-up, and other illegal activities to protect high-profile clients. Donovan also has a fierce devotion to his children and brothers, though his relationship with his wife was extremely complicated (of course). But even more complicated were the problems with his menacing father Mickey (Jon Voight) after he's released from prison, not to mention the FBI being hot on his trail.
The Ray Donovan movie will pick up where the series left off. Mickey is in the wind, and Ray will do whatever he has to in order to stop him from creating more carnage. Showtime says the movie will also "weave together the present-day fallout from the Donovan/Sullivan feud with Ray and Mickey's origin story from 30 years ago."
Ray Donovan showrunner David Hollander will direct the film, and he'll also co-write the script with Liev Schreiber. Both will executive produce the movie along with Mark Gordon, Bryan Zuriff and Lou Fusaro.
Admittedly, I've never seen an episode of Ray Donovan, but I hear it's a big hit with fathers, and Liev Schreiber has apparently been great on it too. The actor received an Emmy nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama five years in a row from 2014 through 2018, and the series itself earned a variety of other Golden Globes and Emmys nominations over the years. Jon Voight even won an Emmy for his supporting role on the show, but he's a real a**hole, so who cares.
For their part, Showtime's Presidents of Entertainment, Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, said in a statement:
"When Ray Donovan went 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."
It's not yet clear when the movie will arrive on Showtime, but we'll keep you posted.