The Black Donnellys: The Kid's Got Potential...

After thinking it over for the day, I have this to say about The Black Donnellys: It’s got potential. I won’t say more than that after being burned by another show – in a similar timeslot – that had great potential. Fool me once about a Monday at 10 o’clock show, shame on NBC. Fool me twice…shame on Aaron Sorkin for ruining that timeslot for me. (Shut up…I’m not bitter!)

At any rate, The Black Donnellys feels like high-quality television. The lighting is dark, the colors are rich, and the filming is very attractive in general. The actors aren’t just a bunch of eye candy (also a potential negative, I suppose), and the plot is actually kind of interesting. Interesting enough to keep me watching for at least another week, even though I’m not that into the subject matter.

Essentially, the show revolves around four dark-haired Irish brothers in an Irish mob-controlled neighborhood. We’ve got Jimmy, the thug; Sean, the chick magnet; Kevin, the shitty gambler; and Tommy, the good one who just can’t break free from his Family. Initially not that interesting, right?

By the end of the episode, the “good one” has shot up a bunch of Italian mobsters and is the new neighborhood boss. Yeah, the dude is really into defending his Family. Like I said, interesting enough to keep me watching. Especially if they lose the overly-expository narration. It makes sense for the pilot, but will only get more annoying as the show goes on.