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The Black Donnellys

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This article is about the 2007 NBC Television Program. For the notorious Canadian Donnelly Family, see Black Donnellys.
The Black Donnellys
Created byPaul Haggis
Robert Moresco
Developed byScott Corwon
Paul Haggis
StarringJonathan Tucker
Thomas Guiry
Olivia Wilde
Billy Lush
Michael Stahl-David
Kirk Acevedo
Keith Nobbs
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes13 (7 unaired) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersPaul Haggis
Robert Moresco
Running timeapprox. 46 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseFebruary 26, 2007 –
April 2, 2007

The Black Donnellys is an American television drama that debuted on NBC on February 26, 2007 and last aired on April 2, 2007. Thereafter, NBC began airing new episodes weekly on NBC.com and it was officially cancelled.

The show followed four young Catholic Irish-American brothers in Hell's Kitchen and their involvement with organized crime.[1]Although the show was set in the present day, it drew heavily upon Irish-American history and iconic themes. Their story is narrated by a childhood friend, Joey "Ice Cream", whom the show depicted as an unreliable narrator. As the pilot episode indicated, there was a clear tension and rivalry between the Irish and the Italians.

The show was created by Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco. The show's cast included Jonathan Tucker, Olivia Wilde, Billy Lush, Tom Guiry and Kirk Acevedo with relative newcomers Michael Stahl-David and Keith Nobbs.

In creating the show, Haggis, a native of London, Ontario, strongly referenced his hometown's local history about the real-life Black Donnellys and the massacre associated with their name.

On April 2, 2007, NBC announced that the series would be pulled after the April 16 episode [2]. That only lasted for two days, however, as on April 4, 2007, NBC decided to pull the show immediately from its lineup, presumably due to poor ratings on the most recent episode[3]. It was also announced that unaired episodes would be streamed online on the NBC website, as well as downloads available from iTunes. Episodes can be watched here.

Characters

Jimmy Donnelly - The oldest of 4 brothers. He is a troublemaker and drug user, who is often involved in criminal activity, and known for making poorly thought-out decisions. When he was young, a car sped down the road and crushed his leg.

Tommy Donnelly - Tommy is the second oldest brother in the Donnelly family. He wised up as a kid after a pivotal mistake and went straight. Tommy is in school studying art. He had the chance to stay out of trouble, but he was not willing to leave his brothers behind. He has a strained relationship with Jenny Reilly, a childhood friend.

Kevin Donnelly - The second youngest of the Donnelly brothers. Kevin is a gambler who thinks he is lucky but has never won a bet in his life. He is often caught in between helping Tommy and Jimmy.

Sean Donnelly - He is the youngest of the brothers and is noted for his popularity with women. Sean would like to help his brothers with "business", but they try to keep him out of the loop to keep him safe.

Joey Ice Cream - Joey is the jailhouse narrator and a lifelong friend of the brothers. He is typically willing to help them out in their times of need. He is a classic example of an unreliable narrator.

Jenny Reilly - Childhood friends with Tommy and the Donnellys, Jenny runs a local diner with her father. She and Tommy have a complicated and strained relationship.

Nicky Cottero - Italian gangster currently attempting to take over the area formerly controlled by his mentor, Sal.

Cast

Main Cast

Recurring

Episode list and ratings

See also: List of The Black Donnellys episodes

Weekly rankings based on Fast National ratings.[4][5][6]

# Episode Air date Timeslot (EST) Season Rating Share 18–49 Viewers Rank
1 "Pilot" February 26, 2007 Monday 10:00pm 2007 5.5 9 3.5 7.93 # 50
2 "A Stone of the Heart" March 5, 2007 Monday 10:00pm 2007 4.5 8 3.0 6.88 # 53
3 "God Is a Comedian Playing to an Audience Afraid to Laugh" March 5, 2007 * N/A 2007 Online only episode
4 "The World Will Break Your Heart" March 12, 2007 Monday 10:00pm 2007 4.4 7 2.6 6.53 # 55
5 "Lies" March 19, 2007 Monday 10:00pm 2007 3.9 6 2.4 5.53 # 68
6 "Run Like Hell" March 26, 2007 Monday 10:00pm 2007 3.9 7 2.3 5.43 # 69
7 "The Only Thing Sure" April 2, 2007 Monday 10:00pm 2007 3.7 6 2.0 5.3 # 71
8 "In Each One a Savior" April 9, 2007 ** Monday 9:00pm 2007 Online only episode
9 "All of Us Are in the Gutter" April 16, 2007 ** Monday 9:00pm 2007 Online only episode
10 "When The Door Opens" April 23, 2007 ** Monday 9:00pm 2007 Online only episode
11 "Wasn't That Enough?" April 30, 2007 ** Monday 9:00pm 2007 Online only episode
12 "The Black Drop" May 7, 2007 ** Monday 9:00pm 2007 Online only episode
13 "Easy Is the Way" May 14, 2007 ** Monday 9:00pm 2007 Online only episode

* "God Is a Comedian Playing to an Audience Afraid to Laugh" was only available online due to network concerns over content ** Episode availabe online-only at 9:00PM EST at NBC.COM

Key: Rating is the estimated percentage of all TVs tuned to the show, share is the percentage of all TVs in use that are tuned in. Viewers is the estimated number of actual people watching, in millions, while ranking is the approximate ranking of the show against all prime-time TV shows for the week (Monday through the following Sunday).

The pilot episode, while averaging 8.42 million viewers, had a large drop off in its second half. The first half hour was watched by 10 million viewers but that number dropped to 6 million in the second half hour.[7]. The overall average was later revised down to 7.93 million viewers.

International broadcasters

Country TV Network(s) Series Premiere Weekly Schedule
 United States NBC USA Mondays, 10pm
 Canada Global Television Network 2007-02-26 Sundays, 10pm
Mondays, 10pm
 United Kingdom ITV2 (episode preview) and
ITV1 (prime-time broadcast)		 2007
 Australia Seven Network[2] 2007

Re-runs of episodes will be airing on the USA Network and Bravo.[8]

Trivia

  • In early drafts, the show was originally titled "The Truth According To Joey Ice Cream."
  • The episode called "God Is A Comedian" was originally slated to be the 3rd episode to air, but NBC decided to make it an online-only episode. It is currently viewable in the USA through the official NBC website, and can be purchased through iTunes.
  • Kirk Acevedo, Michael Rispoli, and Kevin Conway also starred together in the 2006 film Invincible.
  • The Donnelly's bar, The Firecracker, is actually The Shannon Pot, located on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, NY.
  • In the episode "The World Will Break Your Heart", when Helen Donnelly (Kate Mulgrew) goes to the hospital and dismisses Kimmy from Sean's bedside, Kim is reading a paperback edition of "All Souls: A Family Story From Southie"(ISBN 0807072125). The book is a memoir about growing up in a large Irish-Catholic family in a working class neighborhood in South Boston, and his brothers involvement with Irish mob in Southie at the time. The mother in the book is also named Helen.

References

  1. ^ "The Black Donnellys".
  2. ^ The Black Donnellys: NBC Puts a Hit on the Drama, TV Series Finale, April 3, 2007
  3. ^ Donnellys Dropped ASAP, TV Guide, April 4, 2007
  4. ^ Zap2It Ratings: Rating and Share.
  5. ^ Calendar Live Ratings: Viewers and Rankings.
  6. ^ 18–49 numbers, Media Life magazine
  7. ^ Pilot Ratings on TV Squad
  8. ^ [1]: The Black Donnellys on USA, Bravo


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