Family matters in Ray Donovan (or does it?)

No mess is too big for Ray (Liev Schreiber) to clean up in action series Ray Donovan (2013-current, Seasons 1-6 are all on Showmax).

A heavyweight boxing champ has a dead hooker in his bath tub? Call Ray. A pop superstar is being blackmailed with a sex-tape leak? Call Ray. An action movie star is about to be outed as gay? Who you gonna call?

“Women want to be with him and men want to be him,” says series creator Ann Biderman. The only thing missing in his life is a supportive family. “Ray is always in control at the office, but he has a zero work-family life balance,” adds Liev. “Most of the time, his family unfortunately come second, although he tries to be as loyal as possible [which isn’t that easy].”

Ray is about to get a dose of his own medicine as his family show him where their allegiances lie – and it’s not always going to be at his side.

Deadbeat Dad

If there’s one person who really gets under Ray’s skin, it’s his scumbag dad Mickey (Jon Voight). They don’t see eye-to-eye and Mickey (who Ray bluntly calls “Mick”) uses this to his advantage by playing the victim to Ray’s wife and kids.

“Ray feels that his father’s death is absolutely necessary, but I don’t think he can stomach that blood on his hands. That’s why he would rather get someone else to do it,’ explains Liev. Mickey was an absentee father and when he was around, he was an abusive drunk and womaniser. “He doesn’t want to admit it, but Ray is actually playing the role of Mick in his own personal life which has a destructive impact on everyone,” reveals Ann. Ray is at work more than at home, he drinks to forget the things he’s done and he has a furnished apartment in the centre of LA for sleazy sex hook-ups.

Brothers in arms

The only moral compass in Ray’s life is his older brother Terry (Eddie Marsan), an ex-boxer-turned-trainer who’s living with boxing-related condition Parkinson’s Disease. Terry desperately tries to be the opposite of Mickey because he’s seen the destructive nature of their father the longest, unlike Ray and their troubled younger brother Brandon aka Bunchy (Dash Mihok).

“Mick’s non-existing parental skills rubbed off on Ray and Bunchy,” explains Eddie. “When Ray has family problems, he usually turns to Terry for advice, and Terry will quietly put him in his place and show him the error of his ways.”

Bunchy, on the other hand, is the last person who should be giving out advice, but it’s not his fault. He was molested as a teen by their Catholic priest back in South Boston (as was Ray, but he refuses to acknowledge that particular demon until much later in the series) and it has left Bunchy with a somewhat underdeveloped mental capacity, which puts more pressure on Ray as he is Bunchy’s guardian.

Wife strife

Ray desperately tries to be a faithful, devoted husband to Abby (Paula Malcomson) but he falls short more often than not. Sure, he has provided a lifestyle he could never have imagined growing up (like the mansion in the gated posh suburb of Calabasas and more money than Abby can spend), but he ends up in bed with other women… again, like his father.

“The difference between Ray and Mickey here is that Mick only cheated on his wife with one other woman, where Ray will sleep with any woman who crosses his path and catches his eye,” admits Liev.

Abby understands Ray’s work (cleaning up celebrities’ messes) and how tough it is because he’s often forced to use violence, so she turns a blind eye to some of his sinning, explains Paula: “She knows, she definitely knows about his indiscretions but she keeps a lid on it for the sake of their family. She knows that it’s meaningless flings and that he comes home to her most nights.”

Not that Abby is a saint herself – she has a fling of her own in Season 2 with a cop who rubs Ray the wrong way. “She gives her husband a taste of his own medicine,” quips Paula.

But Abby isn’t always going to be there (SPOILER ALERT) – she’s diagnosed with cancer in Season 3 and dies at the end of season 4.

“This pushes Ray into extremely dark places. He has lost his best friend and pillar of strength,” Liev says.

Crazy kids

Make no mistake: Ray loves his children and he will do anything for them, even cleaning up their messes “because that’s what a father does,” says Liev.

The love isn’t always simple for rebellious teens Bridget and Conor (Kerris Dorsey and Devon Bagby).

“They do yearn for it [Ray’s love] but never truly get it, so they are in a constant battle with their dad,” says Kerris. Their toxic father-child relationships get so bad that Conor is sent to military school and Bridget moves out in Season 4 – although the situation with their mom has a lot of influence there.

But it hasn’t always been bad: when a drunk Ray returns home on Conor’s birthday and seeing his son dancing, Ray joins in. “I think this is the only time Conor brings out a lighter side of his dad. It’s such a pity that it’s short-lived,” says Devon.

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