Rake (2014)

“House” comparisons will surely abound, but Rake is easily one of the more confident network dramas to come our way of late.

That nonjudgmental, easygoing charm is precisely why the people in Key's life put up with him, and why viewers will be drawn to him. Rake may be the story of yet another anti-hero, but it's difficult to remember one this likable.

The writing is smart and the episodes well structured, but much of the credit goes to Mr. Kinnear, who maintains a veneer of charm without stinting on his character’s underlay of seedy desperation.

Outside the courtroom is where the drama finds its feet.

The pilot is carried on Kinnear's rascally charm and is heavy on quirk.

The new first episode is good enough to suggest Tolan and creator Peter Duncan will be able to get at least a season out of the world punishing Keegan. There might not be enough here to go beyond that initial episode order, but just watching Kinnear play the sad asshole—wandering around L.A. without a car or getting beaten up due to gambling debts—keeps things rolling smoothly for now.

It’s a fun, entertaining spin on the legal procedural and an ideal showcase for Kinnear’s rakish charm.

The first few episodes of Rake are, if anything, even fluffier than White Collar. All the better for Kinnear to gently cut through the whimsy with his sharp delivery. [27 Jan 2014, p.39]

Kinnear is great in the role because he doesn’t look like a loser--quite the opposite--and that’s important.... Perhaps because this is the pilot, most of the episode is devoted to showing Keegan screwing up and only a few afterthought scenes focus on Torrant’s case. In order to succeed from week to week, the series needs more than just a lot of figurative pratfalls.

An hour feels a little long for the tonally eclectic dramedy, but Kinnear is pitch-perfect, and with sharp stories, Rake can progress. [24 Jan 2014, p.64]

Rake has enough varied story elements to not fall into the procedural courtroom drama. Kinnear is a natural in the starring role, effortlessly making the shambles of his character's life seem not only plausible, but also sympathetic.

The degree to which viewers will enjoy the new Fox series Rake, based on an Australian series of the same name, will depend on how high their threshold is for watching a charismatic, talented person repeatedly sabotage himself while trying the patience of those around him. Going a long way toward making that trope palatable, and quite charming, is Greg Kinnear as lawyer Keegan Deane.

Thanks to Kinnear, most of this works, although there are touches that feel a tad too precious.

Kinnear, as always, is a likable presence, and he and Summers seem like they’ll have good chemistry if the show ever calms down.

The first pilot was already emblematic of the struggle to do cable-style weirdness and moral ambiguity in a broadcast network context; the new pilot sands off several of the edges that survived the first time.... It is, essentially, "House, JD," and Kinnear has the impish charm to play this kind of character.

Kinnear carries himself ably, and his character’s amiable rogue presence wears fairly well for starters. The long haul may be problematic, though.