‘Ray Donovan’ Canceled: Fans Fuming Showtime Series Won’t Get Season 8, Proper Conclusion

On Tuesday it was announced that Ray Donovan had been canceled at Showtime, and fans can hardly believe it. The show ended is seventh season with a cliffhanger, and fans have just learned that there will not be another one. Social media erupted with angry posts from Ray Donovan fans when the news broke.

Ray Donovan has been one of Showtime’s biggest performers in recent years, so it makes sense that fans are sad about its cancellation. The outcry goes beyond typical disappointment, however, as fans learned that they will not even get a big finale to resolve the most recent storylines.

“After seven incredible seasons, Ray Donovan has concluded its run on SHOWTIME,” read a statement from Showtime published by TV Line. “We are proud that the series ended amid such strong viewership and on such a powerful note. Our deepest thanks go to Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, showrunner David Hollander and the entire cast and crew, past and present, for their dedicated work.”

Fans are not pleased by this news, lashing out at Showtime for the abrupt cancellation through any platform they can. Here’s a look at what Ray Donovan fans are saying.

‘Not a Finale’

Not only did fans learn that Ray Donovan is over, they retroactively learned that the last episode they saw is now the series finale. Many cannot retroactively accept this episode as the end, and are considering it a travesty.

Cancellations

More than a few fans declared their intentions to cancel their Showtime subscriptions after Ray Donovan was canceled. In many cases, they addressed the network directly in their tweets.

“Canceling this program will create an outpouring of fans that will contact their cable subscribers and cancel,” one user told the company. “[The] way you ended it without any real closure is bulls—.” 

Comparisons

Seasoned TV fans could not help but compare this disappointing series ending with other shows that left them disappointed. That includes Dexter, Weeds and Homeland for many.

Cliffhanger

The fact that Ray Donovan is officially ending on a cliffhanger feels especially jarring to some fans who have noted that the show does not even do cliffhangers that often. The unresolved storyline is now doomed to hang over their heads forever.

Ratings

Many fans were baffled by the decision to cancel Ray Donovan, as their perception was that the show was a big ratings-driver for Showtime. According to a report by TV Series Finale last month, the show was one of Showtime’s highest-rated scripted series, though the numbers fell continuously during its run.

Petitions

As always, fans tried to fight the cancellation with impassioned arguments and petitions for its continuation. Last week, star Liev Schreiber himself even shared one article making the case that Ray Donovan should be given another season. Schreiber thanked the writer for his kind words.

Non-Fans

Finally, Ray Donovan fans were not the only ones put out by the cancellation news on Tuesday. Even those that did not watch the show were baffled, saying that it was wrong to pull the rug out from under loyal viewers.