HDNet Picks Up Rights to The Black Donnellys
Fresh off yesterday’s news that CBS would be reinstating the cancelled series Jericho, we have received word that Mark Cuban’s HDNet channel has bought out the rights to Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco’s Irish mob drama The Black Donnellys, previously killed by NBC after only 5 episodes. Starting on Wednesday, June 13 they will air the entire series all over again, including the 7 episodes that never aired (yes, even the ones that were deemed “too violent for TV”). This is great news for anyone who had been following the show… personally I thought it was just starting to get interesting when they decided to throw in the towel. How cool would it be if the show was a hit for HDNet and they were able to get it back into production again? I think this show would do better on a cable network anyway since it had to be too sanitized for primetime network TV. I’m sure the odds of this happening are next to nil, and it’s clearly just wishful thinking on my part. Still, this is one of the many benefits to the splintering of television into a million different cable channels. Just about anything can find an audience somewhere.
Comments (4)
For more info on our campaign to get a 2nd season of TBD please visit:
http://thefirecrackerlounge.com/firecracker/index.php
Posted by Jane on June 15th, 2007That would be great if TBD was given a second season on cable, I really hope that the show will be given that chance. Either way, the move to HDNet will possibly gain some new viewers who missed it on NBC.
There is a campaign in the works, so please get the word out. Save The Black Donnellys!
Posted by Amy on June 15th, 2007Yes, there’s an audience for everything. There’s whole channels for fishing and gardening(God knows why), The Black Donnellys should certainly have a spot of it’s own for veiwers who like more emotional dramas with mystery and a deeper meaning underneath.
Posted by Snakelady on June 15th, 2007This show is unique and different but artfully done and too great a thing to just yank off TV.
I appreciate the article.
Thanks for posting this Sean. There are many fans out there who are happy to see The Black Donnellys on TV the way it should have been shown in the first place. NBC did not give TBD the opportunity to build an audience as it should have. Luckily, HDNet had the smarts to do what NBC should have done. Now if only we could get someone to commit to produce the second season. We know many of the cast members and certainly a great many fans are interested. Join us in the fight for quality TV and help bring back The Black Donnellys. Visit http://www.savetheblackdonnellys.net for more information about the Save The Black Donnellys campaign. For campaign discussion check out the “Firecrackers” thread at http://www.thefirecrackerlounge.com.
Posted by mija71 on June 15th, 2007Leave a Reply