It's been really trendy on television for the last few years for shows to kill off some of their lead characters, whether to up the ante during finales or bring some extra pizzazz to other episodes. We expect deaths from shows like The Walking Dead and even Grey's Anatomy at this point; however, there is one TV series that is already crafting an ending and really wants to avoid the death trope. Ray Donovan's showrunner David Hollander recently spoke out about the end of the Showtime series and how he wants to craft that ending. Here's what he had to say:
There has to be a narrative to bring us to where we want to go. I'm doing the dance between the style of the show and the greater narrative of who is Ray Donovan within his family and who is this man and where is he going next? We have to reach a point with Ray where we say goodbye to him, and the goodbye shouldn't be death. Goodbye needs to mark a time in his life where we felt like we've seen what we needed to see.
So, if you were hoping Ray Donovan would go out in a blaze of glory, Breaking Bad-style, you will definitely be disappointed by the finale whenever it comes. While Ray Donovan has featured plenty of deaths during its time on the air, often at the hands of Mickey. (I don't think I'll ever forget that moment when Mickey drugged and then drowned a pimp he disliked---it was so much colder than a lot of the more in-your-face killings.) While Ray is often in bad shape, thanks to getting beaten up, etc. I'm glad to hear it's not going to be the show's goal to send the series off with his death at the hands of some douchebag.
David Hollander isn't expecting for Showtime to announce Ray Donovan is ending tomorrow, however, he did tell THR that he has definitely started looking at the end game for the drama, which just ended its Season 4 run earlier this week. While Showtime's programs generally tend to have a long shelf-life, it's clear that the creative team is trying to figure out exactly how the endgame will go down.
I'm beginning to seriously think of an endgame, I think it's essential. This is a series and a story that in its inception was never designed with a grand design of where Ray Donovan was going. That was the design.
While some shows have been outlined from the very beginning, other shows don't set out with an endgame in mind, and that's ok. The good news? Ray Donovan has already been renewed for Season 5. New episodes aren't expected to air until next summer, but while we wait for the series to continue, you can find out what is headed to TV this fall with our premiere schedule.
