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Rake is an American comedy-drama television series that is an adaptation of the Australian series of the same name, both of which are created by Peter Duncan. The series airs Thursdays on Fox and premiered on January 23, 2014.[1] Duncan also serves as series producer with star Greg Kinnear, Peter Tolan, Michael Wimer, Richard Roxburgh (who also stars in the Australian version), and Ian Colletti on this version for Fedora Entertainment, Essential Media and Sony Pictures Television. On May 8, 2013, the series was added to the network's 2013–14 schedule as a late fall/mid-season entryThe series follows Keegan Deane, a criminal defense lawyer whose personal problems have led him to self-destructive behavior that has him battling wits with everyone around him, including his ex-wife, the judges, the assistant district attorney, his bookie, and even the IRS.
Cast[edit]
Greg Kinnear as Keegan Deane, the titular rake
Miranda Otto as Maddy Deane, Keegan's ex-wife and a psychiatrist
John Ortiz as Ben Leon, Keegan's best friend from law school[4]
Necar Zadegan as Scarlet Leon, Ben's wife and the Assistant District Attorney for Los Angeles[5]
Bojana Novakovic as Melissa "Mikki" Partridge, a $500-an-hour prostitute and Keegan's romantic interest[4]
Tara Summers as Leanne Zander, Keegan's personal assistant
Ian Colletti as Finn Deane, Keegan's teenage son
Omar J. Dorsey as Roy, a tough who is also Keegan's creditor and friend[4]
Production[edit]
The early episodes will be aired out of order as the original pilot, written by Peter Duncan and directed by Sam Raimi, had "an overload of not drama ... but maybe a little sadness," according to producer Peter Tolan. He added, "[it] worked against the episode. And so we refigured it, sort of toning that down". The episode originally portrays Keegan Deane (Greg Kinnear) in an unhealthy mental and physical state.[6]
Critical reception[edit]
Rake scored 62 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 30 "generally favorable" reviews.[7] Hank Stuever from The Washington Post gave it a B+ grade, stating in his seasonal preview that "House comparisons will surely abound, but Rake is easily one of the more confident network dramas to come our way of late. It's a procedural ... but it's just unorthodox enough to make me eager to see more."[8] The Los Angeles Times' Mary McNamara stated "Rake owes more to the increasingly humane tone of family and female-based comedies like Modern Family and Parks and Recreation than Rescue Me, which could (fingers crossed) indicate a similar journey to the light for the ever-popular tortured white male."[9] Jeff Jensen from Entertainment Weekly awarded the series a B grade, stating "Rake is yet another show that tries to entertain us with a boorish, morally sketchy protagonist. Comparisons have been made to House or cable drama cads like Don Draper, but it's the differences from the 'Unlikeable Antihero' archetypes of current TV that define the show."[10]
Not all reviews were favorable: James Poniewozik of Time stated "You get the sense that the show ... is vacillating. Maybe it wants to be the kind of raw indictment/worship of reckless masculinity we've seen on cable. Or maybe it wants to be a more picaresque version of House, with a little less genius and a little more self-degradation."[11] The Huffington Post's Maureen Ryan said "Part of the problem is Rake's diffidence about how bad a guy Keane is supposed to be. He's clearly a raging narcissist, yet the show deflects that aspect of his personality and tries to make him seem a little bit adorable. If we're supposed to fear that the worst aspects of his personality will land him in serious trouble, the tidy resolutions of various story points in the pilot seem to preclude that possibility ... Rake isn't a bad show, it just doesn't appear to have the courage of its convictions."[12]
On a single day, Keegan Deane is described as many things. His ex-wife-calls him "unreliable"; his son calls him a "pal"; most judges think he's "an outrage"; the IRS calls him a "defendant"; and to his former dealer, he's simply a "tragic loss". Brilliant, frustratingly charming and with zero filter, Keegan is one of life's great addicts. His staggering lack of discretion and inability to self-censor land him the cases that nobody else will touch, but behind that lies a resolute optimism and belief in justice that fuel his dogged determination to defend those who seem beyond redemption. He always tries to do the right thing, but at the same time struggles to save himself from the many self-destructive elements that plague his own life, such as his overindulgence of various excesses, including women and gambling.
Keegan gets a majority of his cases from Ben, his best friend since law school. Ben is married to Scarlet, another of Keegan's old friends and, as Assistant District Attorney for the city of Los Angeles, quite often his opponent in court. In addition to Keegan's cases within the justice system, the series follows his personal trials and tribulations, including his mounting debt to his bookie and his overlapping liaisons with various women, including Melissa "Mikki" Partridge, Keegan's favorite prostitute and de-facto love interest. Also among his predicaments is his ongoing battle with the IRS. But always there to help Keegan clean up his mess is Leanne Zander, his extremely put-upon, no-nonsense assistant. Meanwhile, Keegan's ex-wife, Maddy, a psychologist by profession, begrudgingly acts as his therapist. She also is the mother of their hormonal son, Finn, who displays many of the same proclivities as his father. Each morning, Keegan tends to wake up bruised - physically, emotionally, spiritually. Usually it's a combination of them all. Then it's out into the world - onto the battleground of Keegan's day.
