The Riches (styled as the Ri¢hes) is an American television drama which was originally broadcast from March 12, 2007, to April 29, 2008, on FX. The series stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver as members of a family of Irish Travellers who "steal the American dream" by stealing the home and identities of a wealthy dead couple. The series received positive reviews but was cancelled after two seasons.
History
Originally named Low Life, the show was created and head written by Dmitry Lipkin for Maverick Films and FX Networks. The one-hour pilot was written by Lipkin and Eddie Izzard, and directed by Carl Franklin. The pilot was then rethought and reshot over 10 days by Peter O'Fallon. It first aired on March 12, 2007, followed by a further 12 episodes. Additionally, the first two episodes were made available on the Internet prior to their television air dates. FX announced on May 8, 2007, that The Riches would return for a second season, the first episode of which aired on March 18, 2008. The second season ran for 7 episodes. FX President John Landgraf described The Riches as a "family show", albeit one featuring "a family unlike any television viewers have seen before".
The second season was affected by the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike and was abruptly cut short. Several months after the season ended, the show was cancelled, with FX blaming a drop in ratings. In 2019, Minnie Driver lamented the cancellation, and wrote that the show was "cancelled in the wake of punitive measures taken against writers who were vocal in the writers strike".
Plot
The show features Izzard and Driver as Wayne and Dahlia Malloy who, along with their family, are Irish Traveller con artists and thieves. They travel with their children Di Di (Delilah), Cael, and Sam.
As the series begins, Dahlia has just been paroled from prison. During her 2-year sentence, she has developed various drug addictions. In her absence, Wayne and the children have been continuing to act as con artists across the U.S. After a brief reunion with their Traveller clan, the family flees to avoid an arranged marriage for Di Di. Wayne steals a large amount from the clan's hoard of cash, and the family runs off. After getting into an altercation and RV chase with another Traveller family, the Malloys are involved in a car accident that kills a very wealthy couple, the eponymous Riches. In the hopes of pursuing a "better life", they decide to "steal the American dream" and adopt the Riches' identities in an affluent gated community in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They struggle to adjust to their new lives as buffers, as they call people who are not Travellers.