When some shows are cancelled you can see it coming; they radiate that stilted, formulaic, dull vibe that makes you give up after a few episodes knowing its fate. But then there are shows that are fast,funny, well acted and still get, inexplicably cancelled. Well Rake firmly falls into the latter camp. A U.S. remake of a much sleazier Australian show, Rake centres around criminal defence lawyer Keegan Deane the excellent Greg Kinnear. But there was noting routine 'crime of the week' ( The Mentalist style ) about Keegan's cases they were dark and quirky. As dark and quirky as Keegan himself, an inveterate gambler, womaniser and all round pain in the arse. But it was Greg Kinnear's brilliant performance that lifted the character out of terminal sleaze. It was a masterclass of timing and charm and Greg Kinnear genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself. He was ably assisted, or hindered, by his best friend Ben ( John Ortiz ), ex wife Maddy ( Miranda Otto ) and long suffering assistant Leanne ( Tara Summers ). The acting was first rate and the scripts were sharp and funny with every episode throwing something different and surprising at us. But just as fans of the show were settling in, it gets cancelled. While formulaic dross trundles on to season after season Rake goes to the scrap heap. I suppose we can hope against hope that Netflix picks it up. But until that unlikely event all we can do is rage against the Gods of television for the cruel, arbitrary things they do.
Over.
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