7-Part Bingeworthy Gritty Crime Series That Ended With A Movie Is Now A #1 Apple Hit

A gritty seven-season crime series that originally aired on Showtime is finding new success on the streaming charts six years after airing its final episode.

There are many crime series available to stream on Apple TV, including Black Bird, Liaison, Dope Thief and Slow Horses. Aside from original series, several other shows in the crime genre are available to buy from the Apple TV Store, like True Detective, Ray Donovan, Broadchurch and The Sopranos.

Ray Donovan, the crime drama starring Liev Schreiber as the titular character, is currently at the very top of the Apple TV Store’s TV chart, ahead of shows like Succession, Rick and Morty, Marvel Comics X-Men and World War II with Tom Hanks. Ray Donovan: The Movie, meanwhile, is sitting at No. 6.

Ray Donovan debuted in 2013 and aired for seven seasons. Schreiber’s Ray Donovan is a fixer who works in Los Angeles (and, later, New York) to protect his well-known clients against bribes, threats and other crimes. Along the way, he has to contend with the behavior of his father, a former prisoner whom the FBI has in its sights.

Schreiber’s co-stars included Paula Malcomson, Eddie Marsan, Dash Mihok, Pooch Hall, Steve Bauer, Katherine Moennig, Kerris Dorsey, Devon Bagby, Jon Voight and Susan Sarandon.

Not only did Ray Donovan receive mostly positive reviews from critics, with an average critic score of 72%, but the series also scored multiple awards and nominations throughout its run.

At the Emmys, Hank Azaria won for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, with Schreiber, Voight and director David Hollander all being nominated. Even though he didn’t win at the Emmys, Voight walked away a winner at the Golden Globes and the show itself won a Critics’ Choice Television Award.

Ray Donovan was abruptly canceled after seven seasons, with Showtime not giving showrunner David Hollander and the writers a chance to give the characters a final farewell. A year later, the premium cable network announced it was developing a movie to serve as the official conclusion to Ray Donovan.

The main cast members reprised their roles for Ray Donovan: The Movie, which aired in January 2022 and focuses on Ray attempting to find his father, Mickey, after he flees following a murder. Hollander directed the film and co-wrote the script with Schreiber, who served as an executive producer with Hollander, Mark Gordon, Bryan Zuriff and Lou Fusaro.

Ray Donovan: The Movie proved to be a hit for Showtime, with an 81% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and nominations at the Emmys and Critics’ Choice Awards for Outstanding Television Movie and Best Movie Made for Television, respectively.

A few years ago, there were plans to create a spinoff called The Donovans, but Paramount+ ended up reworking the idea, which turned into the non-Ray Donovan series MobLand.

Even though the Ray Donovan franchise didn’t continue, both the series and the movie are surging up the Apple TV Store chart, with audiences rediscovering the gritty crime drama all these years later.