TV shows get canceled all of the time, and in most cases, they deserve it. But the cancellation of The Black Donnellys in 2007 was a case of a great show that should’ve been given a better chance. The drama aired on NBC, which pulled the plug well too early.
If you never heard about it, The Black Donnellys (”TBD”) was a gritty coming of age tale about four Irish brothers in New York and their association with organized crime. The show placed a huge emphasis on the rivalry between the Irish and Italian mafias and how the Donnellys found themselves (unwillingly and, at times, deliberately) caught in the middle. Our protagonist, Tommy Donnelly, was a man that cared about his family and friends and would literally do anything to protect them. His three brothers were all screw-ups and he constantly had to clean up their messes, but that just made the ride that much more amusing. Crash director and writers Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco created this little gem that had a short broadcast life of seven episodes (the final six streamed on NBC.com). The writing and production were phenomenal and TBD was just as funny as it was serious.
Ultimately, the show got whacked because it slipped in the ratings more and more each subsequent week, despite having the time slot after ratings darling, “Heroes.” It was never given the chance to build an audience. Yeah, I know that given the poor performance, it didn’t make business sense to let the show continue. The real zinger is the fact that NBC replaced it with “The Real Wedding Crashers,” a show that couldn’t even hold on for 3 episodes before it was cancelled. C’mon, show a little respect! And did I mention that the advertising campaign for the show was pretty much non-existent. Anyway, TBD was eventually picked up by Mark Cuban’s HDNet, where it finished its thirteen episode run. The complete series was released on DVD in September.
Despite it’s quick demise, TBD developed quite the cult following. You’d find it pretty easy to find message boards now where fans talk about the show and how it should be revived. Heck, SaveTheBlackDonnellys.net went so far as to send a creative executive at HBO shipments of crackers (a symbolic reference to the bar the Donnellys brothers own in the show) in order to demonstrate their plea for the cable network to pick the show up. However, there was no beating the inevitable - TBD couldn’t be saved.
What’s worse is that true fans of the show will always wonder what could’ve been. The season set the viewer up to care about these characters and what becomes of them. Further, the ending left the potential for the story to continue and show more of the brilliance it exhibited during its run.
TBD will live on in DVD and unsuspecting Netflix subscribers will eventually stumble upon this urban delight. But I’ll always wonder what Monday nights could’ve been like. Heroes and The Black Donnellys - now that is must-see TV.
Worst decision of 2007 to cancel The Black Donnelly’s! WHat a great show and cast, and like the article said just as funny as it was serious. I hope one day someone will realize what a mistake it was to cancel this show and give us another season or a movie. Die hard fans are still discussing the show at the Firecracker Lounge if you wanna join in!
I never saw this show until it was on DVD.. and while watching it, I kept thinking, how could they cancel this!??!? I really wish someone would wake up and give this show the chance it deserves.
This was unfortunate. The Black Donnellys was easily the hottest show of 2007. The 10pm slot on Monday nights is just a dead slot. NBC did no marketing, put no additional backing behind the show and were idiots to not give the Donnellys a chance.
Not to mention Tommy was so cute, and deserved his moment to shine as a brilliant actor. Lol, I still remember the episode when they chopped up Louie Downtown and Tommy was just in his underwear. Now that’s good tv- XOXO
yup.. t’was a shame to see this go. NBC needs to wake up and realize this was one of there best shows! Bring TBD BACK!