The saga of Wayne and Dahlia Malloy continues tonight, when The Riches returns to FX with it's brand-spanking new second season.  For fans of Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver, who essay the roles of the hustler duo, that is the good news.

Now comes the bad part – revelry in fresh episodes of The Riches won't last too long as the sophomore season, which takes off tonight, has been downsized to just half its originally planned run. 

As a result of the hundred-day writers' strike, season 2 of The Riches has been cut down from the intended 13 installments to just seven.  Aside from this, there is yet not guarantee at this point, whether there will be a future for the series beyond this new season's seventh episode.  To date, there has been no word on whether the show will be back for a third go.

Despite the looming uncertainty, star Eddie Izzard, who is also an executive producer on The Riches, remains upbeat and positive.

"We're going seven seasons," Izzard said as he kicked off a premiere screening of the second episode at the Pacific Design Center on Sunday.  "Of course no one's agreed to it yet, but seven sounds good."

In a slight takeoff from its usual format as a serial, tonight's second season premiere will have a unique recap to help usher in new viewers into The Riches lore.  The new season will see the family eventually resuming their comfortable lifestyle, with Wayne mapping out an idea that promises to deliver a large profit.

"He and his wife start lying to each other," Izzard said.  "He really puts his family on the line, taking a route that is very dangerous.  The stakes are much higher."

With the lies, deception and increased risks, this season takes a much darker tone than the first.

"I actually prefer the darkness," Izzard admitted.  "There's some black humor that twists out of everything."

Catch the start of a second serving of The Riches at 10 tonight on FX.


-Rosario Santiago, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Los Angeles Times
(Image Courtesy of FX)