The Riches: Season 1

One of last year's few true debut delights, The Riches instantly wowed viewers with its willingness to break all of the accepted rules of small-screen dramas. The show's offbeat protagonists are a family of “travelers” (modern-day gypsies with larcenous streaks) swept into the glamorous Palm Beach lifestyle thanks to their impersonation of the wealthy Rich family, killed in a car crash that only the impostors witnessed. Wayne Malloy (Eddie Izzard) and his ex-con wife Dahlia (Minnie Driver), along with their children Cael (Noel Fisher), Di Di (Shannon Woodward), and Sam (Aidan Mitchell), play their roles with consummate skill, neatly sidestepping the various pitfalls that periodically face them. In the episode “Cinderella,” for example, Dahlia's ex-cellmate turns up on the Rich doorstep and blackmails her way into a job as the family maid, while in “Been There, Done That” deceased Doug Rich's ex-wife is on the warpath looking for back alimony payments, which keeps Wayne on the move in order to avoid a potentially disastrous face-to-face meeting. But all of these plot gyrations wouldn't amount to much if the principal characters weren't so engaging, and in that respect this clever, brilliantly acted series offers a true embarrassment of riches. Compiling all 13 episodes from the 2007 first season, DVD extras include two audio commentaries by Izzard and series creator Dmitry Lipkin, a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, and seven webisodes. Highly recommended. (E. Hulse)