The Riches is a show that, frankly, should have been a hit--or a hit by cable standards, anyway. It starred Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver, two recognizable and respected actors; Izzard's brilliant stand-up work has also garnered him a cult following Stateside. It was a smart, inventive series, and its perch on the edgy FX network allowed it more freedom with adult language and subject matter. Its first season debuted with extensive promotion and terrific fanfare, and the ratings were good enough for this second season pick-up. Unfortunately, the writer's strike cut the season short, from the expected thirteen episodes to a mere seven; with less promotion and an abbreviated schedule, ratings were middling for season two and the network quietly announced the series' cancellation several months later.

That cancellation is a disappointment, because The Riches really is an excellent show, quite unlike anything else on television. The Malloys are a family of Irish "travellers," con artists who move from place to place and inventively grift the funds to keep moving. The series began with the mother, Dahlia (Driver) being released from a stretch in prison; to avoid an arranged marriage for daughter Di Di (Shannon Marie Woodward), the family steals some money from the patriarch of their extended family and tries to disappear. On the road, they're involved in a fatal traffic accident with Doug and Cherien Rich, a wealthy couple on their way to a new home and new life in Louisiana. Following a hunch, father Wayne (Izzard) gets a look at the Riches' home in a gated community and decides that his family is going to "steal the American dream."

The Riches seemed especially odd at first because its premise seems more suited to the confines of a feature film than an ongoing series; you can see how this kind of con story would lend itself to a traditional three-act movie structure. The spinning of the story into an ongoing serialized show required a bit of improvisation by series creator Dmitry Lipkin, but that's exactly what grifters like the Malloys rely on anyway. Lipkin and the series' other writers are also able to take more time with the story and give more complexity to the characters; Dahlia/Cherien, in particular, is the kind of role that a typical film would have reduced to either window dressing or a series of affectations.

Season two maintains the high quality of the first season, picking up with the cliffhanger that seemed to leave the Malloys at a point where a quick exit was their only option--they had been found out by Doug Rich's best friend and tracked down by Dale (Todd Stashwick), an unstable and crafty cousin looking for a taste of the big payday. Wayne/Doug manages to squirm his way out of it, but gets wrapped up in a less-than-desirable partnership with Dale and the covering up of a big, big problem. An extended arc finds Wayne involved in a potentially lucrative real estate deal with his boss Hugh (Gregg Henry); it promises a big enough share that the family can make a real and comfortable escape.

Dahlia's unstable mental health is also a focus this season. She is overwhelmed by guilt and tries to make things right by turning herself in as a parole violator, which leads to her leading a double life to appease her parole officer (Ntare Mwine). DiDi finds an unexpected romance while son Cael (Noel Fisher) breaks from the family and hits the road on his own. And things get even more complicated when a fellow traveller, Eamon Quinn (Jared Harris, quite disturbing) is released from prison and gets involved.

Some of the first season flaws remain--Izzard's accent is troublingly flighty, and the youngest son Sammy (Aidan Mitchell) remains an underdeveloped character whose cross-dressing feels shoe-horned in to please Izzard (though Lipkin and Izzard claim that this element was in the show before Izzard was attached). And, as with any serialized drama involuntarily cancelled, we have a well-crafted and involving cliffhanger ending that will probably never be resolved; it really does end with everything still up in the air, and unless the mumbles of a feature-length conclusion are true, it's a mighty frustrating point to leave us at.

But it's still a hell of a program, bolstered by fine writing, inspired direction, and terrific performances. Accent trouble notwithstanding, Izzard does some great work, proving himself just as capable a dramatic actor as he is a comic one. Wayne is a character who lives moment to moment and does most of his thinking on his feet; Izzard allows us to see the gears turning, and his inherent likeability is a definite plus with a character this morally ambiguous. Driver, however, is a revelation; her relative lack of activity in recent films, following a busy period in the mid-90s, is truly our loss. Her soulful, fully felt portrayal of this tough, practical, troubled woman is one of the show's highlights. There's an abundance of good work among the supporting players as well, particularly the wonderfully slimy Henry, the hard-boiled Mwine, and the marvelous Margo Martindale (so perfect in the final section of Paris Je T'aime), whose turn as neighbor Nina is beautifully layered and real.

The seven Season 2 episodes come on two flipper discs, with two episodes per side and the lone special feature sharing side two of disc two with the final episode. Both discs are house in a hinged, standard-width version of Fox's new "eco-friendly" plastic case--I'm not sure how much plastic is saved by not using those little slivers, but never mind. Oh, and boo for that ugly cover art.

The 1.78:1 anamorphic image is much sharper and more inviting than the lackluster image I was used to seeing on FX, with crisp colors, nice contrast, and no detectable digital artifacts or compression issues. Overall, a very solid transfer.

An English 5.1 Dolby Surround mix is the audio option of choice, but it's basically glorified stereo; all of the action is front and center, so I'm not sure why they didn't just go 2.0. That complaint aside, the mix is quite good, with music and effects well-modulated on the sides and dialogue clear and audible in the center channel.

English, French, and Spanish subtitles are also available.

After commentaries , outtakes, featurettes and webisodes on the season one collection, the dearth of special features for season two is quite a disappointment. The single, solitary extra is "Eddie Izzard: Revealed" (6:06), a featurette of clips and interview snippets with Izzard and Lipkin discussing Izzard's journey from comedian to dramatic lead, his connection to and identification with the character, and his thoughts on doing the show (including a heartbreaking moment where he indicates his hope that the show runs for six or seven seasons).

With only twenty episodes in the can, The Riches is a fine serious that ended too son. Smart, thoughtful, frequently dark and fitfully funny, it was perhaps too odd and unusual for television (even FX). But it makes for a great "marathon show" on DVD; taken in uninterrupted chunks, The Riches is like a rich, well-written novel, full of interesting characters and unexpected depths.

Jason lives in New York. He holds an MA in Cultural Reporting and Criticism from NYU.