Showtime laid out its programming plans for the next year during their virtual TCA and those plans included when we will likely see the highly-anticipated Ray Donovan movie that will wrap up the series after its surprising cancellation.
The network’s Presidents of Entertainment Gary Levine and Jana Winograde initially indicated that the feature-length movie would debut this coming winter but Levine eventually clarified that we will see the Ray Donovan film in the first quarter of 2022. This will mean that its debut will come exactly two years after the series’ cancellations which led to a huge uproar from its dedicated fanbase. Levine was asked to address the cancellation of the show after seven successful seasons and how the wrap-up movie came to be and here is what he had to say:
“It’s a very difficult decision sometimes. In the best of cases you can plan for it, and it can be a nice gentle landing; Homeland had a beautiful finale in that regard as did Shameless, and sometimes it can’t be planned and circumstances just make the decision a little more abrupt, and sadly that was the case with Ray. I don’t think it was ending it after seven seasons— although some people would like it to go on forever— I think it was the abruptness of the cancellation.”
The season 7 finale of Ray Donovan had already aired when the cancellation decision was made. David Hollander, the showrunner of the series, admitted to being completely blindsided at the time about the decision because the seventh season had not been planned as the show’s last hurrah. Gary Levine is now promising fans that the wrap-up movie will provide a satisfying ending for the story which will see Liev Schreiber return as ultimate fixer Donovan. Schreiber is also co-writing the script with series showrunner David Hollander, who is also set to direct. Levine finishes by saying, “We did hear from fans, and we are nothing if not responsive to our audience. I think this Ray Donovan two-hour movie will go a long way to making that landing more graceful.”
Are YOU excited for the Ray Donovan movie on Showtime?