JeremyOswald.com

I wasn’t so sure I wanted to watch The Black Donnellys when I saw the promos on NBC, primarily due to the fact that it was showing up mid-season to replace Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a show I really want to see get picked up for another season. I watched the premiere of The Black Donnellys and witnessed Tommy Donnelly begin a rise to power in an action-packed, yet emotional program that showed a lot of potential. In one episode, I was hooked. I eagerly watched each episode as it aired, then it aired no more. I wondered why it wasn’t on my television screen each Monday. Sunset 60 wasn’t back yet, although from what I understand, more episodes have been ordered. No new show filled the time slot left empty by The Black Donnellys and I’d heard no rumors that it had been canceled, in fact it was only on for about five or six episodes. So what gives?

In my Netvibes account, I subscribe to a lot of television related feeds. One of them being Watch with Kristin from E! Online. Kristin is always good for some behind the scenes info, updates on just about any program, even some spoilers. Kristin informed me that The Black Donnellys is close to being canceled, however, NBC is releasing the episodes online each Monday at 9 p.m. Sure enough, I visit The Black Donnellys on nbc.com, and I have a couple of new episodes to watch. I’m happy about that. I’m not happy about the fact that NBC is trying to pull this off as an “NBC Online Exclusive” program. First of all, Studio 60 wasn’t doing all that great in the ratings, why did NBC think that The Black Donnellys would easily walk away with Monday night? Even if they didn’t think it was doing well in the ratings, don’t put the show online only, with no promotion and wait to see how it does there. Users aren’t checking out NBC.com to discover a new show that’s not even promoted on the network. Jeez, even Kidnapped was given the courtesy of it’s online only status being promoted during primetime. And Kidnapped sucked by comparison.

I’ve given props before on this site to the networks, specifically NBC and CBS, for making the episodes of canceled programs that have already been filmed available online. But promote it NBC, especially considering that the fate of the show is based on how well it does through online distribution channels such as nbc.com and iTunes. Don’t say you’re giving a show a chance when you’re not.

If you haven’t watched The Black Donnellys, I can’t tell you to start now. The show is great. The characters are awesome, the episodes are incredibly well written and engage the viewer. The narration by “Joey Ice Cream” can be a bit cheesy, but it works. Overall, it became one of the shows that I couldn’t wait to watch each week. I can’t encourage anyone to watch it because I wouldn’t want to subject anyone to really getting into the show and giving it a chance, when its own network that pumped millions into producing the show refuses to do the same.  For crying out loud, even Raines gets a spot in NBC’s weekly lineup.  If nothing else, it was great having Olivia Wilde, who I haven’t seen much of since her exit from Orange County, on my television again.