The Riches: Izzard Says TV Show Will Continue as a Movie

Many fans of The Riches were left on the edge of their seats for months, waiting to hear word about the fate of the gritty FX series. Unfortunately, when the word finally came down, it wasn’t one they wanted to hear: cancelled. But, according to one of the TV show’s stars, the story isn’t over.

The Riches TV show debuted in March 2007 on FX. The series follows a family of Irish con artists who assume the identities of a wealthy family who perished in a car accident. The show stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver in the roles of Wayne and Dahlia Malloy. Others in the cast include Shannon Marie Woodward, Noel Fisher, Aidan Mitchell, Todd Stashwick, Gregg Henry, Margo Martindale, and Bruce French. Stashwick broke the cancellation news to fans last month and an official cancellation notice came soonafter.

In a recent TV Squad interview, series star Izzard says that there are plans to make a Riches feature film, inspired at least in part by the interest of a famous fan.

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Izzard says, “Oh, there was unfinished business [in the series]. We want to do a film about it. We want to do a film to continue it on….We’re already working on the script for it. Because I met Samuel L. Jackson in a lift, or an elevator, as you say, in London. And he was going, ‘So what happens with your kids…they gonna be ok, you continuing, what’s going on?’ So I thought, well, if Samuel L. Jackson wants to know what’s going on, we have to do a film. So we’re going to pick up…the plan is to pick up exactly where we left off, and we think we’re going to make a film of the next bit.”

The actor believes the timing for a movie couldn’t be better. “You know, with the Internet exploding, with all the finances going through the roof, we’ve got passionate fans. We had great reviews, and passionate fans all over the world… But we didn’t have the right number of them. ”

While the show’s declining ratings ultimately doomed it, Izzard believes simply measuring a show’s popularity via traditional television viewers is unrealistic. He said, “And how you test with these Nielsen boxes, it’s antiquated. It’s 1950’s technology, and we’re doing stuff that is different. People are looking at it in different ways.”

He concludes, “Numbers apparently stopped us, but passion keeps it going.” Stay tuned!