Alan Alda Joins Liev Schreiber in 'Ray Donovan' Season 7 Premiere

Montauker Liev Schreiber and Water Mill’s Alan Alda appeared in the Season 7 premiere of Ray Donovan on Showtime Sunday, kicking off what appears to be another gripping story line for the hit series.

In the debut episode,“Faith. Hope. Love. Luck.” Schreiber returns as the iconic Hollywood fixer, a role that has earned him three Emmy nominations and five Golden Globe nods. This time, Ray is attempting to be a better man, as his family needs him to be.

He’s making progress during his The Sopranos-like therapy sessions with Dr. Amiot—played by Alda, a five-time Emmy and Golden Globe winner—and it shows when he beats a stalker he’s been hired to stop. After chasing the man, who takes a bad fall down a flight of stairs, roughing him up and telling him to leave his client alone, Ray walks away, takes a deep breath and returns to say, “I don’t think I handled that well,” adding, “Get some help.” He also goes to visit his father Mickey (Jon Voight) in prison to forgive him.

But not everything is going well in the Donovan family’s world. SPOILERS FOLLOW.

Mickey turned himself in for past crimes, but a series of four-leaf clover signs leads him to what might, possibly, maybe be his demise while riding in a prison bus—which hits an oil tanker and burst into flames. At the same time, a sawed off head belonging to one of the dirty cops the Donovans killed last season has literally surfaced after fisherman hook it and reel it in. Now that this new evidence is out there, Ray decides to pin the killing on his dad, who’s already incarcerated anyway, but he probably won’t get to see him after what could be the family patriarch’s death.

Meanwhile, Ray’s boxer brother Terry (Eddie Marsan) is having a tough time with his Parkinson’s disease, so he tries an alternative therapy, drinking the hallucinogenic ayahuasca vine. It should be noted that Alda revealed his own, very real Parkinson’s diagnosis last year, and he and Marsan appear to have bonded.

During filming on October 18, Marsan tweeted, “Honestly one of the highlights of my career, working with @alanalda on Ray Donovan S7. Such a beautiful man.” Alda retweeted and responded, “I loved working with you on Ray Donovan today, Eddie. Isn’t it glorious fun to act?”

I loved working with you on Ray Donovan today, Eddie. Isn’t it glorious fun to act? https://t.co/Ul8n9FRKJw

— Alan Alda (@alanalda) October 18, 2019

Ray’s troubled brother Bunchy (Dash Mihok) is trying to make a fresh start, bunking in Ray’s apartment and working stocking shelves at a pharmacy. Half-brother Daryll (Pooch Hall), who is mixed race, struggles to figure out where he fits into the Donovan clan, especially with Mickey out of the picture, and Ray’s daughter Bridget (Kerris Dorsey) and her new husband Smitty (Graham Rogers) face the realities of married life.

Things are just getting started in Ray Donovan Season 7, and the show has already left fans desperate to find out what happens next week. Watch Ray Donovan Sundays on Showtime. See the Episode 2 teaser below.