Have you heard? NBC is pinning its hopes on this new lofty, ambitious show created by a Hollywood Golden Boy. They’ve been hyping it with millions of commercials and previews (to the point of irritating saturation), all of which promise that the show will bring intellectual, gritty topics back to television. To prove this is indeed a Serious Television Show, most of its scenes will be shot in deep shadow and sepia tones. And of course, NBC is hoping — praying — that this new show will pull the network out of the ratings doldrums.
Sound familiar? Whether you’re hearing this story in the present tense or if it takes you back to warmer days in early September, the parallels between new show The Black Donnellys and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip seem uncanny. Both have big-name creators (Paul Haggis and Aaron Sorkin, respectively), both address serious topics (violence and religion), and both share a timeslot: Mondays at 10 p.m. (The Black Donnellys began squatting in Sorkin’s timeslot last night, bumping Studio 60 into the bleak land of "indefinite hiatus.")
Since further comparisons between the two are inevitable, how do the pilots match up head-to-head? Let us compare and contrast:
The Dramatic Premise
A prominent TV producer has an on-air breakdown at Studio 60,and executive Jordan (Amanda Peet) calls in former-employees-with-questionable-pasts Matt (Matthew Perry) and Danny (Bradley Whitford) to save the day. Can they assemble a dream team to rescue their sketch-comedy show? Meanwhile, on Donnellys, Tommy Donnelly (Jonathan Tucker) desperately tries to keep his crime-loving brothersin check. By the end of the first episode, he’s seen one brotherhospitalized, another arrested, and his dreams of a cleaner, better life go down the tube as hewalks into an Italian mob stronghold and shoots five of its members,point-blank. Somehow saving SNL doesn’t seem nearly as important —nor does it involve gunplay.
Winner: The Black Donnellys
The Setting
The Donnelly boys were born and raised in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen, wherepubs are abundant and territories are clearly marked and defended. Studio 60’sdrama takes place inside a historic theater on a ritzy Hollywood street. Cheer up, gloomy comedy folk — it’s (probably) sunny outside!
Winner: The Black Donnellys
Character Introduction
Studio 60 introduced stars Matt, Danny, and Jordan using handylittle title cards that stated who we were about to meet next. Though thecards were convienent and probably should be considered cheating, afterfive minutes of Donnellys, I was confused as to who was who and howthey were all related — blame it way-too-quick introductions and thestereotypical Irish/Italian/New York way of having all names end in"-y" (it seems like there’s a Tommy, Jenny, Joey, Danny, Pauly, Petey,Jimmy, Billy, Bobby, Scotty, Biscotty, and Sneezy in everyneighborhood.)
Winner: Studio 60
The Love Interest
On Studio 60,Matt pines over his ex — good-girl, God-fearing sketch comic Harriet Hayes (SarahPaulson) — and the two banter like there’s no tomorrow (indeed, watching them go at it really does feel like an eternity). ThoughTommy’s childhood friend Jenny (Olivia Wilde) is married, she doesn’tknow that her husband is dead — yet she proclaims her love for Tommyanyway. Pretty badass. Plus, Wilde gets automatic career brownie pointsfor playing a bi-curious bartender in the most ridiculous of OC plots.
Winner: Wilde and The Black Donnellys
The Guy Love
Studio 60’s Matt and Danny have stuck by each other through thickand thin, including their firings and drug addiction, and the guy loveis palpable; Danny often hides information from Matt to avoid hurting him.The Donnelly boys, though related, don’t seem to interact much outsidefighting, beating on each other, and hiding information to avoid morefighting and beating. And is it me, or is Tommy’s nearly-blind loyaltynot "love" so much as some other emotion that borders on idiotic? They say blood isthicker than water, but thanks to Perry and Whitford’s actingchemistry, Matt and Danny are the more touching team.
Winner: Studio 60
The Moral
Well, we’re not really sure of Studio 60’s"moral of the story," as its pilot had about 15 of them mashedtogether (showbiz career desperation + the decline of qualitytelevision + past drug use + The 700 Club = huh?). But since we’repretty sure the Donnelly boys don’t have any morals at all, we’ll giveStudio 60 a special dispensation.
Winner: Studio 60
Tally up the votes, folks, and it leads to… a frustrating tie.
Which is probably logical. Though I loved the Studio 60 pilot, I was frustrated (as many viewers were) by the end of its run — but I’m not quite sure The Black Donnellys is a particularly good replacement. At the very least, Studio 60’s pilot was better paced and had more memorable characters, though Donnelly’s plot leads to more drama, as long as the story is told correctly.
So what do you think, PopWatchers? Who wins in the battle of NBC’s 10 p.m. Monday timeslot? Is it too early to tell with one measly Donnellys airing? (The first-night ratings aren’t promising.) Do you already miss Matt and Danny’s male bonding? Andmost importantly, who would win in a barfight, Jenny Reilly or HarrietHayes?
Comments (1-30) of 85 Add your comment
More Olivia Wilde, please….
Yikes, I got sick of those endless previews. Shaddup already!
Nope, not gonna watch the crimes of the very Irish. Bored.
Studio 60 was a mess, but it was an interesting mess. The Bleak Dunderheads looks like a mess with no interest.
Of the two writers, Haggis – which is, by the way, a Scottish delicacy involving sheep’s innards – is mostly a hack. Crash notwithstanding.
Sorkin wins and we all lose.
I really liked both shows, and for different reasons. I get the impression that The Black Donnellys will pick up. Maybe NBC won’t air Deal or No Deal every 5 minutes and can air Studio 60 then. And while they’re at it, tell Sorkin to stop making his characters so self-important. It worked on TWW but Studio 60 is just about television its not the end of the world.
I personally was a fan of STUDIO 60 and I also enjoy the Black Donnelly’s (but then again, I have a perchant for bad-ass Irish boys). Although NBC used to give such darker dramas like the Bladck Donnellys a shot on Friday nights at 10, their allocation to Studio’s Monday night slot following rating monster Heroes, confuses me a bit, but I did enjoy last night debut episode. I look forward to seeing what other trouble the Donnelly Brothers can get into, and wanna know who’s gonna be the lucky S.o.B. to tell Jenny her hubby is dead!
Stand Aaron Sorkin in the corner. Make him see the error of his ways. Then, let the genius write a better TV show after no one care about The Black Donnelys.
God I miss Studio 60!
I saw the pilot of the BD’s from netflix and I didn’t even finish it. I have never been more annoyed by a character as I was the brother in jail. When he kept interupting the narrative? I want this show gone so maybe 60 can return.
I can’t believe they cancelled 60. I like Donnelly’s, but come on. Scheduling seems to be the biggest issue at NBC. Whoever runs that dept should be axed, not 60.
I think the Black Donnellys has definite promise. Also, comparing the pilot of Studio 60 to the pilot of the Black Donnellys to try and figure out which show is better is pointless. The pilot of Studio 60 was fantastic. However, everything after that was a mess– hence why the ratings steadily declined. If The Black Donnellys can keep up quality, ratings will rise by word of mouth. However, am I the only one that things The Black Donnellys would work better as a movie?
It’s too soon to tell. I liked the Studio 60 pilot but it went rapidly downhill after that. I also liked TBD pilot but I’ll have to wait and see if the show holds up after a few more episodes.
I was very disappointed by The Black Donnellys. Face the facts, those 4 brothers would get their asses kicked more often than the New Jersey Generals.
Fatima, the one telling the story from the jailcell with the officers was NOT a Donnelly brother. He was a friend, Joey “Ice-cream” from the neighborhood.
i’m totally on studio 60’s side. i feel like people abandoned it pretty quickly, which is sad because i think it actually got better through the season. i just wish people would allow a show to develop. sometimes, there are bad episodes, but that doesn’t mean you should stop watching. anyone remember scrubs, season one? or sienfeld season one? or desperate housewives season two?
My bad…well it was nearly 2 months ago! But still, it just shows that I really couldn’t even invest more than 30 minutes in this show without getting fed up.
I enjoyed the Black Donnellys pilot ep, but thought that the Irish and Italian stereotypes were a bit much. I’m neither Irish nor Italian, but I would imagine that both groups would want be portrayed as more than common thugs. Maybe as the show goes on, we’ll see a more nuanced side to the brothers.
The Black D’s were far more interesting and engaging than Studio 60, where it seems every week the audience was attacked with a long winded sermon. Can’t wait for next week’s B.D. and so long can’t say I will miss you Studio 60.
Bring back Studio. At least it as interesting. It may have had flaws, but you kinda understood what was going down. Not with the Black Donnelly’s. A waterdown version of the Soprano’s. I rather Studio 60’s inperfections more…
As unfortunate as it is that Studio 60 hasn’t been living up to its potential, any show with Matthew Perry & Aaron Sorkin deserves at least one full season in my book. What ever happened to letting shows hit their stride?
Studio 60 is much better and I miss it. I turned over to CSI Miami after 20 minutes of the Black Donnellys because it did not keep me interested enough to continue watching.
Black Donnelly’s was about a hundred times better than the windbag that is Studio 60. If they can keep up the drama, the pace and work on the character development, I think the show has great potential. Some people have said that they are bored with the Irish stereotype; while I agree to some extent that its not exactly original thinking, it is, however, much more entertaining than watching a bunch of rich Hollywood tv people whine and preach for an hour.
They should both be cancelled!
NBC’s got two great entries this year with 30 Rock and FNL. Both were much riskier (and better) than these two overhyped shows. en by guys who believe all the fair weather press written about them is somehow true, and who believe they somehow deserve the star treatment FOR WRITING.
The problem always lies with folks who believe their own hype. Tina Fey got all hot after she became the first truly successful Post-SNLer since Chris Farley, and instead of going all Hollywood she stayed true to her roots. She’s still self depriciative,and go figure that her shows actually worth watching, unlike Studio suckfest.
Also, I’d like to call a show “The White Rodrigues Clan” so as to be all “controversial” like Hackgis.
Who put all this haterade in my water today? Time for a nap…
I had been watching “Studio 60″ and I DVRed “The Black Donnellys” but haven’t watched it yet. I have always liked these crime mob-type movies and TV shows, and I always got a “Sleepers” vibe from “The Black Donnellys” (maybe just ’cause one of the guys on that show was a kid in “Sleepers”) and I hope it’s good.
On the other hand, while “Studio 60″ is by no means the best show on TV, I’ve always found it whimsical and amusing and I hope that somehow it gets a second chance.
But mostly I’m just hoping that they keep “Studio 60″ on long enough for Joshua Malina to be on it. He was good on “Sports Night” and he only seems to get work when Aaron Sorkin’s involved. After that, then I’d be okay with it finishing.
My vote goes for The Black Donnellys. It has more potential for growth.
Haggis cribs and deals in cliches. Sorkin is an original. That said, I prefer the Donnellys. Sorkin’s style just annoys the heck out of me, always has. (Stop talking already! Who are you, Hamlet?) Donnellys stole its highpoint (very late in the hour) from Coppola and Puzo, but at least that’s the gold standard of this stuff. It could get better. And violence is cool!!!1
I think the moral of Donnellys is “brotherhood”, in the Man Laws, cops-and-social-order be damned, kind of way.
Any girl who makes out with Adam Brody, Mischa Barton, and Jonathan Tucker, on camera, wins.
What was it that Judd Hirsch said? Its not going to be a very good show tonight — change the channel…..this show has gotten lobotomized by a candy-assed broadcast network hell bent on doing anything that might challenge their audience…..we’re all being lobotomized by this country’s most influential industry. It has just thrown in the towel …..that remote in your hand is a crack pipe………just turn off your TV. Please NBC find the better part of your nature that brought us West Wing and S60 and be cutting edge again.
While the Black Donnellys has the in-your-face sensational plotline… it doesn’t really stand out against all of the other violent mobster-type shows. The writing in Studio 60 is fresh, witty, and smart. There’s not much out there in TV-land that you can say *that* about.
The only way I would stick to this show is if they get rid of Joey Ice Cream. Narrators are bad enough, but who’s the nimrod that thought this idiot should be the narrator? His voice is annoying, he changes his story too many times, even his look bugs me for some reason. I was so thrilled when the cops slapped a book across his ugly mug in the end. Hate him, hate him, HATE HIM! Please somebody whack Joey friggin Ice Cream!
I like Studio 60, but I came to the show late. I ended up watching a weekend marathon on Bravo (I think) and got hooked. Now I watch all the time, but I guess not any more.
The Black Donnellys- I havent seen, but the ads didnt exactly get me excited about it. All I got fromthe ad was Irish brothers who like to fight. I thought it was a The Departed rip off/coattail show. Not sure I am wrong after reading the other posts.
Studio 60 is a social drama about our society, men and women, and the business of entertaining. It’s much like The West Wing in that it features characters looking to find and declare a proper social protocol for overcoming the differences between cultures, genders, and races.
The Black Donnelys is an organized crime drama with some romantic subplots and a theme of self-sacrifice. It’s like The Godfather Part III in that it’s about someone facing a choice between obeying law & protecting his family, and ultimately having only a choice between acting or letting loved ones die.
They are very different animals and I’d watch them both if they were on together.
I can also imagine the shows merging. The brothers leave for California to avoid prosecution and get jobs on the set. Jimmy yells at everyone to stop crying and do what they must.
I’m honestly more inclined to watch Tommy work out his problems than watch Danny & Matt work out their non-problem problems.
Studio 60 was original, smart TV; The Black Donnellys is a ripoff of a thousand movies and tv shows already done. With the rating Donnellys got for a premiere it won’t be around more than five weeks.