In keeping with the unorthodox, rule-breaking conduct by which all of our TV professionals achieve their weekly victories, Fox’s asshole lawyer series Rake will burn off the remainder of its season early with back-to-back episodes airing this Saturday. It’s not Rake’s normally scheduled night, nor is it a night when TV shows typically air important episodes like a season finale. But hey, that’s just the kind of Saturday night, seat-of-the-pants lifestyle Rake leads. Also, Fox would like to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
After being shuffled to Friday nights, the Greg Kinnear drama has been pulling an 0.4 rating in the 18 to 49 demo, teetering on the edge like a rogue lawyer who has nothing to lose except his entire livelihood. It will now be replaced there with two-hour installments of Kitchen Nightmares and the safer, more comfortingly conventional sounds of Gordon Ramsay shouting. An official cancellation for Rake is seemingly a matter of protocol at this point—though it’s possible Rake could totally skip that, because Rake doesn’t adhere to protocol. That’s what makes him Rake.