The new season picks up where the first one left off with Wayne and Dahlia Malloy (Izzard and Driver) and their three kids about to be exposed for stealing the identities of the Riches, the wealthy couple who died before they could set up in their new home in Edenfalls, a swany Louisiana residential community.
Last season dealt with the Malloys, Irish travellers on the run from their clan, assuming the identity of the Riches and trying to fit in. Wayne became Doug Rich, and took a job as a lawyer for a sleazy land developer (Gregg Henry, an over-the-top hoot). Meanwhile, Dahlia struggled to get free of her traveller roots and her nasty meth habit.
At the end of last season, it looked like Dahlia's sleazy cousin Dale (Todd Stashwick) had gotten the better of them, figuring out their ruse and preventing them from escaping. Also, the real Doug's best friend unraveled their scheme, too.
At the start of this season, Dahlia and the kids manage to escape, while Wayne goes back to deal with the whole Dale/Pete mess. The plot, as it often does on this show, only gets more complicated from there.
"The Riches" is such an interesting show. Its protagonists are thieves, but, unlike the antiheroes on shows like "Damages," "The Shield," "The Sopranos" and "Dexter," the Malloys are actually semi-decent people. In fact, the joke at the show's core is that they're actually nicer than the Riches were. One plot thread has Dahlia becoming attached toMrs. Rich's dementia-addled mom. Despite her state, mom knows that Dahlia is a fraud -- but doesn't care, because this impostor is so much kinder than her real daughter.
This season, Wayne is starting to bend to the pressures of his new identity, and is allowing himself to get corrupted by it. He gets involved with a shady land deal that could defraud hurricane Katrina victims and, though he vows to a colleague that he won't let the deal happen, we're not sure that's a promise he can keep.
"The Riches" is so smart and twisty (I haven't even discussed the Malloys' disaffected neighbor Nina, or their transvestite son) that it constantly keeps you guessing. It's wonderfully entertaining and, thanks to magnificent performances by Driver and Izzard, the Malloys are devastatingly sympathetic characters.
If you missed the the first season of "The Riches," I highly recommend renting or buying it on DVD. If you saw and loved it, don't miss the new season.