Susan Sarandon joins a darker season 5 of ‘Ray Donovan’ Cover Story this week

By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media

Who knew rich and glamorous celebrities had so many hush-hush problems? Well, maybe they do in real life and maybe they don’t, but they sure keep “Ray Donovan’s” eponymous anti-hero busy. Last season’s finale episode included some uncommonly high notes for Hollywood’s problem solver and his rather dysfunctional family, but those sweet moments are fleeting. Catch the season 5 premiere of “Ray Donovan,” airing Sunday, Aug. 6, on Showtime.

Among the fictional elite, Ray Donovan (Liev Schreiber “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” 2009) is the guy you call if you need an unsavory problem dealt with quickly and quietly. A native of South Boston, he pulled himself up from his blue-collar roots to mingle expertly with the glitterati as he goes about his shady work making their problems discreetly disappear. He’s a firm family man at heart, though the various and sundry members of the Donovan clan are constantly clashing against one another.

The new season sees Ray turning his attention back to his celebrity fixer firm, after season 4 shifted focus to an ongoing crime plot line. A major client this year is played by a major talent: look for Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (“Thelma & Louise,” 1991) in a recurring role in season 5. Things were looking good for the Donovans at the end of last season. Ray avoided prison, and we were even granted an unusually lighthearted scene of him play-