The Black Donnellys Canceled

If you tuned into WNBC last night at 10 p.m. you may have discovered that NBC’s The Black Donnellys has been canceled and in its place the supposedly funny Thank God You're Here. We loved the gritty drama and the fact that it was filmed on location in the city. As sort of the booby prize, we are getting the rest of the series online, but still that doesn’t really satisfy.

Now this is all part of a larger trend seen across all theof canceling shows without letting them build an audience – something all the networks are guilty of. Remember either of these from earlier this season - The Nine on ABC or Smith on CBS?

Ironically, NBC has in the past incubated some really good quality shows and let them develop an audience. Hill Street Blues and Homicide: Life on the Street are two good examples of this nurturing of quality programming in the hopes that it would build an audience. However, there has been an overall paradigm shift into immediate results and we do know that NBC-Universal’s “NBC 2.0” cuts favor cheaper programming like game shows and “reality” shows which has really changed the landscape of broadcast television.

We’re starting to wonder if maybe a different model is needed. Perhaps taking a page from the British playbook and having fewer episodes per season would work. Possibly taking a model that works out side of American English language programming is that of the Spanish language telenovellas, which has short series runs. Apparently doing it on the cheap didn’t work, as the MyNetworkTV debacle proved, so maybe the answer is doing short run high quality shows and maybe doing a second series if the show works. This way viewers won’t be left in the lurch anymore.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Toby von Meistersinger in Arts & Entertainment on April 10, 2007 2:13 PM

Comments [rss]

Victoria

Wow....all you Black Donnellys haters....you are SO wrong. This is the first show that i've seen in a very long time that showed real promise. And I watch quite a bit of tv. I can't understand why the ratings were so poor. This is an amazing show...The acting, the plot, the characters, the music are amazing. The show is very edgy, maybe it IS too big for NBC. A show this good belongs on HBO...i mean there is a lot of..."wacking" people happening. Still can't believe it's off the air. I've been waiting monday night at 10 for nothing. This is unbelievable. I mean, even Grey's didn't have the best ratings in the beginning but ABC stuck with it and BAM the Superbowl episode happens and America is hooked. They should've given TBD a chance.

f.u.all

you all are stupid...thank god ur hear is one of the STUPIDEST shows i have ever wasted my time on...TBD on the otherhand, is one of the best..reality tv needs to go...u want reality, live ur life..that shit on tv is not reality and u all know it..its just as staged as any other show that is out there..

debbie

I really like studio 60, but I was willing to give TBD a chance. Half way through I realized that TBD was just amazing. The acting, writing, directing and music is unbelievable. I have never been so personally invested in a show before.

Please bring back the Black Donnellys!!

monica

I loved Black Donnellys and was really glad

NBC wrote, produced and aired something besides another cheap, tasteless reality show.

publius

i wanted to like this show...i really did. if you're of irish descent and have brothers, it's hard not to be part of the target demographic for the black donnellys.

so i tried to like it. really hard. i watched all the episodes, even the web-only ones, before and after it was canceled. but i couldn't like it. it was really bad. the acting was, with the exception of a few brief glimmers here and there (mostly from the guy playing the italian foil to the donnellys), terrible. tommy has one, count 'em one, facial expression...oh wait, so does kevin...and jimmy...and... the plots were inane. the narrator unbelievably annoying. etc. etc.

is it as bad as the ever more absurd and depressing reality shows out there? no, but that's not really much to aim for. just because it isn't a complete piece of shit doesn't mean it don't stink.

crash was an absurdly over-rated movie, but the black donnellys was, apparently, an appropriately rated television show.

john

Give me a frigginn break how many black shows dont have whites on it..Im sooo sick of this reverse racism..its ok for black s to have their "own" shows but if a show comes along with a white cast only its not diverse or racist.

Twizzler

The Black Donnelly's was a well written drama with an interesting storyline. I am sorry if people would rather watch brainless reality comedy shows instead of a show with some substance. Another reality show? Good god we need yet another one of those cheap to produce shows?

I am sorry there was not enough black people in the show for you, it might be because it was about the relationship between the Irish and the Italians(duh), there also was no Chinese, Japanese, East Indians or Germans... hence it was about the Irish and Italians... Being German I wasn't offended we weren't represented... why were you? You did get the part about it being about the Italian and Irish didn't you? I picked that up right away sorry the point was lost on you.

If television dramas were based exactly on life wouldn't that be boring, I don't know about you but though I have an interesting job, a television crew would waste their footage following me around for a week.

The show had a pulse and heartbeat, NBC failed it not the other way around. There is a few “Save the Black Donnelly’s” crusades going around, feel free to add your name to the list with your comments. Most are found threw the NBC message boards.

Jan

I am furious that NBC finally had a good quality show like the Black Donnellys and just cancelled it without any notice. No wonder they are the bottom of the barrel with all their reality CRAP. Guess the majority of their audience wants only mindless garbage at night. Does anybody who makes a difference read our notes anyway?

Ehrlang

I thought the Black Donnellys has been one of the best written, produced and acted shows on TV in the last several years, in fact, I enjoyed it even more than its mobster peer the Sopranos. NBC had a jewel on its hands and is stupidly giving it up. I do not care if the show does not represent NY in a realistic fashion, it is still extremely entertaining and thought provocative, even if its setting is somewhat fictional. It is also very nice to see some fresh young talent on the cast, backed by such solid actors as Peter Greene.

Someone here mentioned State of Grace, I liked the Black Donnellys precisely because of the many parallels, both are truly haunting dramas.

Ehrlang

I thought the Black Donnellys has been one of the best written, produced and acted shows on TV in the last several years, in fact, I enjoyed it even more than its mobster peer the Sopranos. NBC had a jewel on its hands and is stupidly giving it up. I do not care if the show does not represent NY in a realistic fashion, it is still extremely entertaining and thought provocative, even if its setting is somewhat fictional. It is also very nice to see some fresh young talent on the cast, backed by such solid actors as Peter Greene.

Someone here mentioned State of Grace, I liked the Black Donnellys precisely because of the many parallels, both are truly haunting dramas.

Dave Palomares

I loved this show I am glad I can at least catch the online episodes still. I hope they bring it back it. I looked forward to Monday nights & the black donnelleys. It was nice to see the Irish as the key characters and I am not even Irish.

Eddie T

The Black Donnellys is a great show. It actually had some depth....which i guess some people can't handle.

DON'T CANCEL one of the ONLY QUALITY shows out there.

jen

the black donnellys is a great show! i cant understand how anyone didnt like it. and smith was also. i have boycotted cbs since that was canceled.

i dont know what has happened to the people in this country tat would rather watch all this reality crap where people are just making themselves look like idiots.

Joshua Gonzales

The Black Donnelly's, though short lived was a good show. I find it odd that so many people posted the same complaints that the show was either too realistic and depicted life in New York (or any city of choice )in a negative way, or that it wasn't realistic enough and the plot lines were too superficial. Well I have only this to say..It is television. The whole idea is to "imitate" life, to explore the taboo, the unlikely, and the unfamiliar. I cannot comment as to the life experieces of everyone out there but I dare say those of you with the time to post comments here aren't hardened criminals or thugs and are hardly in a positioin to comment as to the realistic nature of violence on television. Lighten up !! Unplug for a few minutes, get over yourselves and avoid falling into the ADD pandemic that has eroded our ability to give anything with even the slightest bit of potential a chance in exchange for big names, big, budgets, and fewer commercial interruptions. A good story is hard to come by these days and an original one is even harder. Don't be suckered into the cliche that the hero is the one wearing white, saving the day, winning the girl, and riding off into the sunset. Sometimes doing the right thing means letting everyone believe you are a bastard.

Oz

NBC can suck my nut sack.

irishjig

Yes NBC needs more shows like "Obese Loser" and "God I wish you were Funny" and lets not forget "Punked: The Wedding Crash & Burn Version". From reading most of the posts to this article it is obvious that the brainless aforementioned is perfect for your vegetable patch mentality!! Bring back the Black Donnelly's!!!!

ms

fuck all y'all. the show was entertaining, period. who the hell cares how realistic it was? it's television.

i've heard, too, that if there's a strong online audience when the episodes stream, and that if the show continues to be one of the most-downloaded on itunes, that NBC will reconsider it at the end of the season.

Upset

UB, you truly are an idiot. The only "true" reality shows are probably Intervention, Deadliest Catch, Dirty Jobs, and Planet Earth. The filth on network television that claims to be reality is far from it. What the hell is so real about Survivor, The Amazing Race (pretty good show actually), Real World, etc. There are scripts for these shows unlike real life. Also, most of the people in these shows are aspiring actors, hence the reason why they never seem to go away after their season is over. Very little tv is realistic, so hold the Donnellys to a higher standard than the rest of television is moronic. Who cares if it is realistic, its entertaining unlike most of the drivel oozing from tv sets. The acting is good, the storylines are entertaining, and many of the situations (albeit comedic) are realistic. For those complaining about the opening credits, who cares about the opening credits. I prefer my credits to be as short as possible, if not nonexistant, anyway.

duniyadnd

It's amusing how people are comparing this to real life NY. I don't suppose you guys care too much for Reality TV cause that's as real as it can get, I'm sure you'll all have a great time with "The Real Wedding Crashers". If the show is over the top, that's fine, that is what the genre indicates, to be over the top. You really see four Irish brothers walking down the street who might become the next heads of the Irish family anywhere in New York? You want that to be realistic, and the drool from you falling asleep will probably hit the floor before the show hits the first commercial.

duniyadnd

It's amusing how people are comparing this to real life NY. I don't suppose you guys care too much for Reality TV cause that's as real as it can get, I'm sure you'll all have a great time with "The Real Wedding Crashers". If the show is over the top, that's fine, that is what the genre indicates, to be over the top. You really see four Irish brothers walking down the street who might become the next heads of the Irish family anywhere in New York? You want that to be realistic, and the drool from you falling asleep will probably hit the floor before the show hits the first commercial.