The Black Donnellys: Season 1
  • Network: NBC
  • Series Premiere Date: Feb 26, 2007
  • Season #: 1
Metascore
45 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 30 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 30
  3. Negative: 12 out of 30
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  1. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    30
    [A] grim, brooding, utterly muddled crime series.
  2. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    20
    To say these guys are stereotypes does insult to the clichés they clumsily represent.
  3. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    20
    "Donnellys" creaks and sighs, moans and slumps, and ambles along like a world-weary cliche, unable or unwilling to lift its head above the humdrum banality to which it has been consigned.
  4. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Robert Bianco
    25
    You'll eventually be able to tell one gun-toting, ax-wielding character from another. You're just not likely to develop a desire to spend time with them.
  5. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    10
    This pretentious mishmash is a paint-by-numbers Irish-American "Sopranos" ripoff.
  6. Orlando Sentinel
    Reviewed by: Hal Boedeker
    30
    The Black Donnellys is not top of the world... or the second coming of The Sopranos. The new drama is old wine poured into fancy, contemporary bottles.
  7. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Nancy DeWolf Smith
    10
    As they stumble from one brutal act to another, accompanied by a hip rock soundtrack, we're not watching dramatic art; it's more like "Dawson's Creek" for psychopaths.
  8. Salon
    Reviewed by: Heather Havrilesky
    30
    While "The Sopranos" and "Brotherhood" make it look easy, "The Black Donnellys" makes it excruciatingly clear just how difficult it is to tell a soulful story about criminals.
  9. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    30
    It sounds like the kind of "keeping up with HBO" series Showtime would do, except the premium cable channel already aired an Irish mobster series, "Brotherhood." And it had richer characters and superior plotting.
  10. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Robert Abele
    30
    Unfortunately, the young actors on display aren’t compelling enough to make us care much beyond their sometimes stupidly self-induced crises.
  11. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Paul Brownfield
    0
    NBC sent out five episodes; I sat through three before throwing the DVD on the Donate to Public Library pile. I would like to apologize in advance to the library.
  12. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Virginia Heffernan
    10
    Like “Crash,” “The Black Donnellys” is more of a lecture than a drama.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 215 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 134 out of 149
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 149
  3. Negative: 13 out of 149
  1. DaveStone
    10
    I thought this was a very good show that was not given a chance. I enjoyed the plots of each episode and I thought the characters were interesting. All in all, good entertainment. I would have liked to have seen what happened in the second season but, alas, the show was canceled.… Full Review »
  2. fyzaha
    10
    Will the network see these votes? If so, the drive is to bring back this drama, and they should consider what the viewers would like!
  3. SteveO.
    10
    This is one of the only shows I've ever cared enough about to never miss an episode. The dialog, the story-telling style, the plot, and the acting were excellent. The only better show ever cancelled after one season was Firefly.… Full Review »
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