7.8 /10 1 Votes
8.7/10 Created by Dmitry Lipkin Country of origin United States No. of seasons 2 Genre Serial | 8/10 IMDb 69% Theme music composer Toby Chu Original language(s) English Final episode date 29 April 2008 Networks FX, Fox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Eddie Izzard
Minnie Driver
Shannon Marie Woodward
Noel Fisher
Aidan Mitchell
Todd Stashwick
Gregg Henry Cast Minnie Driver, Eddie Izzard, Shannon Woodward, Noel Fisher, Aidan Mitchell |
The Riches (styled as the Ri¢hes in promotional material) is an American television series which was originally broadcast from March 12, 2007, to April 29, 2008, on FX. The series starred Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver.
Contents
History
Originally named Low Life, the show was created and head written by Dmitry Lipkin for Maverick Films and FX Networks. The one-hour pilot was written by Lipkin and Eddie Izzard, and directed by Carl Franklin. The pilot was then rethought and reshot over 10 days by Peter O'Fallon. It first aired on March 12, 2007, followed by a further 12 episodes. Additionally, the first two episodes were made available on the Internet prior to their television air dates. FX announced on May 8, 2007 that The Riches would return for a second season, the first episode of which aired on March 18, 2008. The second season ran for 7 episodes. FX President John Landgraf described The Riches as a "family show", albeit one featuring "a family unlike any television viewers have seen before". Todd Stashwick, one of the actors, announced on his blog that the show was canceled on September 26, 2008, almost five months after season two ended. The series was officially canceled by the network a few days later. One suggested reason for the show's cancellation was the delay caused by the writers' strike.
Plot
The show features Izzard and Driver as Wayne and Dahlia Malloy who, along with their family, are Irish Traveller con artists and thieves. They travel with their children Di Di (Delilah), Cael, and Sam.
As the series begins, Dahlia has just been paroled from prison. During her 2-year sentence, she has developed various drug addictions. In her absence, Wayne and the children have been continuing to act as con artists across the U.S. After a brief reunion with their Traveller clan, the family flees to avoid an arranged marriage for Di Di. Wayne steals a large amount from the clan's hoard of cash, and the family runs off. After getting into an altercation and RV chase with another Traveller family, the Malloys are involved in a car accident that kills a very wealthy couple, the eponymous Riches. In the hopes of pursuing a "better life", they adopt the Riches' identities in an affluent gated community in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They struggle to adjust to their new lives as buffers, as they call people who are not Travellers.
Cast and characters
Lexicon
The Travellers use a variety of terminology. In addition to slang, some of the vocabulary is taken from Shelta (also known as "the Cant"), which is sometimes used as a code by Travellers.
Season 1: 2007
The first season's episodes began airing on March 12, 2007. The pilot episode and episode 1.2 ("Believe the Lie") were made available early for online viewing at MSN, Yahoo!, and TV.com at various times.
The original airdates (US) are listed here for each episode.
Season 2: 2008
A second season of 13 episodes was announced on May 8, 2007 by FX for broadcast in the first half of 2008. It premiered on March 18, 2008. Due to a long writer's strike, only 7 episodes were produced.
Ratings
The pilot episode of The Riches drew 3.8 million viewers. With 2.5 million of those viewers in the 18–49 demographic, The Riches scored second only to the premiere of The Shield, thus beating out the premieres of other FX dramas such as Rescue Me, Over There, and Dirt. The pilot was also FX's first-ever Sunday night premiere of an original series, and more than doubled the channel's highest-ever ratings for the Sunday 10pm slot. The show averaged 5.9 million cumulative viewers per week in the USA, sufficient for FX to commission a second season. The Riches has gained popularity through online resources, such as Hulu and iTunes' "What We Are Watching" for April 2008.
Critical reception
Television critics were generally favorable in their reviews of The Riches. The Baltimore Sun described it as "the kind of TV drama that makes one think while being entertained". and The Boston Globe lauded a "layered drama" full of "unexpectedly soulful pleasures". Some critics thought the show "lacks originality", but there was praise for the principal actors, with The New York Times reporting "together, [Izzard and Driver] are superb".
Time magazine's James Poniewozik named it one of the Top 10 New TV Series of 2006, ranking it at #7, while Minnie Driver was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series for her performance.
The second season garnered similarly positive reviews. The Hollywood Reporter review said that "Izzard and Driver remain a joy to watch in this odd but fascinating series that is derivative of nothing on TV", while the San Francisco Chronicle described it as "gloriously inventive, daring and provocative".
Home releases
Season Releases
Film
Eddie Izzard said in a 2007 interview that he is currently putting together a script for a movie as a conclusion. He said the plan is to "pick up exactly where we left off, and we think we're going to make a film of the next bit".