‘Ray Donovan’s Cast & Showrunner React to Cancellation (PHOTOS)
Fans weren’t the only ones surprised when Showtime announced Tuesday that its long-running drama Ray Donovan had already aired its series finale. (The last episode aired January 19.) The series was canceled after seven seasons, but showrunner David Hollander revealed he’d been planning Season 8 — and thought that would be the end.
“We had no indicator that the show was ending. We were behaving creatively as though we were in mid-sentence,” he told Vulture. “This was in no way a series finale.”
And because of that, he and the writers already knew what they wanted to happen next, which would have included “the creation of Ray Donovan as a character and as a fixer.” That’s something he wanted to show to honor their “very long and committed relationship to [their] very loyal audience.”
After learning of the cancellation, Hollander reached out to the cast. “The responses run the gamut from people being sad and grateful to anger and confusion,” he said.
Series star Liev Schreiber posted a simple salute on Instagram following the announcement. He had previously revealed on social media that the show’s future was in the network’s hands.
Dash Mihok posted a lengthy farewell on Instagram (and over several tweets) expressing his gratitude and love for the show and its fans. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to get to work on this show,” he wrote. “You all have embraced us in ways I could never imagine. You opened your Sunday nights and your hearts to this crazy dysfunctional family of characters and I/We are so extremely grateful for every minute we got to share with you.”
“Thank you to my incredible cast and to the best crew on both coasts,” he continued. “I Love you and have Loved this experience. I will cherish it forever. Thank you again to all for tuning in and being part of this family all these years.”
Pooch Hall thanked the rest of the cast, the crew, the network, and the fans. “So #Grateful for this opportunity and am so thankful to those who helped me and made be better as an actor and as a human being,” he wrote. “#DaryllDonovan finally came into his own and is ready to start the next chapter. Maybe we’ll see maybe we won’t it’s in Gods hands now.”
Kerris Dorsey’s goodbye to the show and its fans was short and sweet, as she wrote on Twitter, “7 years. thank you for watching and watching and watching.”
7 years. thank you for watching and watching and watching. 🍀 @SHO_RayDonovan pic.twitter.com/qO7mdL08ds
— Kerris Dorsey (@kerrisdorsey) February 5, 2020
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services