"Donnellys" Whacked, "Trees" Back After All?

The midseason scheduling has been one giant mess on broadcast television in America this spring as new shows have been bombing one after another and the networks are desperate to put together a schedule that won't lose too much advertising revenue.

NBC has therefore decided to yank plans to air two more episodes of its mob drama "The Black Donnellys" before the arrival of Ashton Kutcher's new reality show on April 23 after an all-new "Heroes". The show will however remain available on NBC.com.

Meanwhile TV Guide reports that inside sources at the network claim "Men In Trees" might still be back on air with those 5 unaired episodes this season. Will ABC's honchos make up their mind? Are Nikki and Paulo alive? What did Teri Hatcher have for breakfast? Stay tuned.

To be continued.

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NBC Pulls "The Black Donnellys"

The Peacock network has formally announced that it is pulling its low rated Monday night mob drama "The Black Donnellys". If you thought this would mean the return of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip", I will have to disappoint you.

According to Hollywood trade press, the midseason drama will make way for a reality take on the hit movie "Wedding Crashers".

When the third chapter of NBC's sole hit new series "Heroes" premieres on April 23 at 9pm, NBC will pair it off with "The Real Wedding Crashers" at 10pm.

Originally NBC considered a slot in its Sunday night all-reality line-up, but having liked the early episodes the execs opted for the plum post-Heroes slot instead.

Recently, "The Black Donnellys" has done even worse in the ratings then before after ABC premiered a new cycle of "Dancing with the Stars" giving its low-rated 10pm drama "What About Brian" a ratings bump, sending NBC's "Donnellys" to the bottom.

It is not clear if "The Black Donnellys" will continue to air through April 16.

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"Studio 60" May Get Axed

NBC will cancel its troubled Monday night drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" if the new midseason series "The Black Donnellys", which takes over its timeslot on NBC tonight, even matches the lackluster ratings of the Aaron Sorkin-penned series, reports Kristin Veitch of E! Online today.

According to Veitch, inside sources at NBC claim "Studio 60" - the most anticipated new show of the season that went out with a whimper last week hitting series low in the ratings - would have been canned months ago had it not been for a special clause in Aaron Sorkin's contract.

Apparently, the network was so confident in the program, which some TV critics believed it would be one of the greatest new shows of the season, that Sorkin got a clause in the contract ensuring his services for an entire season, making it equally expensive to cancel the drama as to make it.

The network would cancel "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" even if "The Black Donnellys" only matched its poor ratings because the behind-the-scenes TV industry drama with an all-star cast is much more expensive to produce.

Read more about STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP

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NBC's "The Black Donnellys" Begins Monday, Now Playing Online

NBC's new drama "The Black Donnellys" from Oscar winner Paul Haggis begins next Monday night after an all-new "Heroes" (10:03 PM ET/PT), but for those of you eager to see the pilot, Yahoo! TV is already streaming the first episode.

The drama created by "Crash" writers Haggis and Bobby Moresco tells the story of four young working-class Irish-American brothers who live by the motto "family first" despite their involvement with organized crime in New York City.

"The Black Donnellys" will have the benefit of airing following two very exciting episodes of "Heroes" and opposite CSI: Miami reruns in March.

If the drama does better than "Studio 60", the network will probably keep it in the timeslot until the end of the season.

I will post my review of "The Black Donnellys" later this week.

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