Review of The Riches on FX

The Riches, the latest original program from FX, is yet another over-the-top, unbelievable, and outrageously outrageous drama from the network. And like all of its predecessors... It works superbly!

The premise is simple: A family of gypsies, travelers, con-artists (pick a term, they're all used) assume the life of a dead rich guy and his wife. That's the premise in a nutshell, at least.

The actual workings of the show are a bit more complex, with a few footnotes that need to be noted. Let's just take a look at the pilot, since that was the beginning of our adventure. Wayne Malloy, played by the fantastic Eddie Izzard, is used to life on the road living con-to-con, until his wife, Dahlia (Minnie Driver), gets sent to prison for a couple of years. When she is paroled, Wayne and the children are on their way to pick her up from prison, but not before a quick class reunion scam to get some presents for Mom. That is where we come in to find the family, pick pocketing and looting.

Now we can jump ahead to the camp they all call home. It's a traveler's camp just as you'd expect to see; second-hand clothes, happy people singing and dancing, etc... This camp is also led by Dahlia's family, but the matriarch is deathly ill and his son, Dale, is already taking over. A fight breaks out when Wayne finds out that Dale has promised Di Di Malloy (Shannon Marie Woodward), Wayne's daughter, to some 'inbreed' for marriage.

Wayne decides to rob Dale and go on the run. While on the road, we meet some 'old friends' of the Malloys. I'm not exactly sure who these people are, but I'm assuming they're aren't BFF's or anything since Wayne takes the husband down in the men's room and then an odd RV chase ensues. During said chase, the enemy RV runs a fancy car off the road and drives away. Well, the cons with hearts of gold run to try and save the victims, who happen to be rich, arrogant Doug Rich. With both dead and the keys and a letter welcoming them to their new home, Wayne feels it's time for his family to stop living in the conditions they've been in.

Oh, and did I mention that Dahlia is now a drug addict, Dale is on the hunt to find the family (and his money), their youngest son likes to wear dresses (takes after Eddie Izzard apparently), and nobody in their new community has ever met Doug Rich or family? Just some more info that will most likely come into play this season. All in all, a very promising start for a new show, but then again, I would expect nothing less from FX. I mean come on, the worst show they ever put on the air is Dirt, and even that isn't all that bad.

I will admit though, if it wasn't for the believability of Eddie Izzard as a family man who just happens to be a thief, I don't know if the show would work as well as it does. He has this way of really making you wanna see them win. Minnie Driver's acting is, of course, amazing, which should just be a given. Her character just doesn't reach out, grab you by the collar, and tell you to start cheering for her the way Eddie's Wayne does, though she does grow a lot of likeability by the end of the pilot episode. Even the child actors help to really make the family dynamics believable, and not nearly as sad or absurd as they would be outside of the idiot box. These actors are what actually make this a family drama.

Long story, which I'm sure I've made longer, short, watch The Riches on FX.