In Ray Donovan, Liev Schreiber's character is known as a "fixer", but the actor has revealed a problem with the show that not even Ray Donovan can fix. Schreiber revealed to Seth Meyers that for the past five seasons they've been saying his last name wrong, and he set the record straight during their interview:
We did make one huge mistake that any Southie probably knows if there are any Southies in the house tonight. We call the character Ray Donovan (DON-AH-VIN), it's Donovan (DUN-UH-VIN). If you're a Southie or Irish it's Donovan (DUN-UH-VIN). So we've been screwing it up for six years!
Thankfully, the show has been good enough that Ray Donovan fans haven't tried to burn the showrunners at the stake for such an egregious error. And as Seth Meyers points out, there's always time to explain it in Season 6. Now that Liev Schreiber has thrust that secret out into the world, perhaps he actually will talk to the staff about writing in a reason why his character pronounces his last name the way he does. If they do, will Late Night With Seth Meyers get a writing credit for the pitch?
Probably not, and considering Liev Schreiber is comfortable enough speaking publicly about the last name pronunciation goof on television, it's likely the Ray Donovan crew isn't that worried about fixing it. There's more than one way to pronounce most last names, and surely the writing staff could find a simpler explanation as to why he doesn't pronounce it the Boston way, as opposed to dedicating an entire episode to explaining it. Then again, if Ray Donovan isn't going to die when the show finally comes to an end, maybe this is the perfect way to end the series?
That's a discussion for when Ray Donovan ends, however, and with new episodes coming in 2018 for Season 6, the end is nowhere in sight. One thing that is known is that Season 6 will be a change of pace as Donovan sets up a permanent residence in New York City. No reason has been given exactly why that happens, but one can assume that answer will come during the Season 5 finale this weekend.
Ray Donovan will have its Season 5 finale October 29th at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime. For more on the Liev Schreiber, check out how he adopted a pair of dogs rescued from Hurricane Harvey, or how he was originally supposed to appear in Hugh Jackman's last Wolverine film Logan. As one show winds down, many more are winding up as fall is peak time for great television. Be sure to stay in the loop by visiting our fall premiere guide and find a full catalog of this season's television offerings.
