Ray Donovan season 5 episode 1 spoilers: Ray’s path forward

The premiere of Ray Donovan season 5 is coming to Showtime on August 6! Are you excited for that? Based on what we’re hearing, there are many reasons to be given that Ray and the rest of his family are going to be put through the ringer. No slow build here! Ray has to figure out a way to channel his emotions better, there will be a little bit of romance, Bridget taking on a major story arc of her own, and then also the arrival of Susan Sarandon for her season-long arc.

Can we begin here by talking about how awesome it is that Ray Donovan landed someone of Sarandon’s caliber? She’s never been a hotter TV commodity following the massive success of Feud: Bette and Joan, and she will set Ray off on a course where he has to take care of a whole new score of Hollywood problems. By the end of the season, we would assume that the show would follow the typical Ray Donovan pattern of things looking reasonably simple at first before starting to spiral out of control, and of course with Ray thinking that he can’t do this anymore and/or a feeling that he is about to die.

Below, you can see some of the first details for the premiere episode, which carries with it the title of “Abby” — a pretty simple title, really:

“Ray begins court-ordered anger management after a family tragedy sparks a bar fight. Mickey, Bunchy and Daryll prepare for Terry and Maureen’s wedding. Bridget looks up a mysterious acquaintance in New York. Conor, also away from home for the first time, grows accustomed to military school. Meanwhile, Sam Winslow, a powerful new employer, comes into Ray’s life.”

First of all, we don’t blame anyone for wanting to be away from the Donovan household. Beyond that, we don’t imagine that Sam will waste a whole lot of time putting Ray to work. The new promo below gives you a slight inclination of what’s coming, but only in bursts.

Let’s look aside from the story of Ray Donovan for a moment to discuss one of our biggest concerns for the new season: The ratings. Even with bringing in a heavy hitter like Sarandon, the Showtime drama is going to have a huge challenge airing on Sunday nights opposite Game of Thrones. Thanks to the HBO series airing previously in the spring, that’s not something that this show had to contend with much in terms of live viewing before.

Luckily, the good news here is that the majority of viewers who watch Showtime have access to DVR or On-Demand; or, they’re streaming customers who will check out the service at their own leisure. So long as they have the awareness that the show is back, they’ll figure out a way to watch.

What are you hoping to get out of Ray Donovan season 5? Feel free to share some of your hopes/expectations for the story below!

Also, head over here to secure some further news/insight right now when it comes to the series. (Photo: Showtime.)