Deathrow_nzl I enjoyed this show a lot.. But the way episode 13 ended though it seems like they were planning to make another season.. They did'nt really tell us exactly what happened and left us guessing.I am guessing that some of the actors weren't keen to do another season.Its a shame really.I think the only actor I have seen in another show worth mentioning and might have been better off leaving the show was was Mark Margolis (Sal) who starred in breaking bad..Would love it if they got some of the cast together and started up on this series again.. Even though that's unlikely.

John Raymond Peterson Read the brief IMDb plot summary and check out the, so far, four critics. Perhaps read a few reviews of opposing views and then you may not want to watch it. The only positive indication that this may be a series worth watching is the so far 8.6 rating from IMDb users; my other sources of reference for ratings were not that generous. The best way to determine if it is a series you might like is to watch the first episode and judge for yourself. I was fortunate to do just that; I concluded I wanted to watch the whole thing, and did.Comparing it to anything else is going to mean outlining one's opinion about two reviews , The Black Donnellys and whatever else it is being compared to, hardly conducive to an objective assessment. If the review was to make some scene or feature/key moment comparison, that's entirely different. I prejudged it, and this is no better, because I did not care for the cast to begin with. I also would have bet a fair bet that such a series would not last on an American national network for all the constraints placed upon any series with potential violence. The series stood a far better chance of survival ( for at least two seasons) had this been produced for cable network. The terrific Deadwood, Rome and The Sopranos series could not be shown on American national network, too much of it would have been snipped by the censors for being too violent or politically incorrect; director or actors having to ply their art in that environment will not likely produce their best work. The lead character played by Jonathan Tucker is not as colourful as the other three brothers; whether Tucker's interpretation is to blame or whether it is the part itself doesn't matter. Tom Guiry and the character of Jimmy played by him is the catalyst for all the action. There is plenty of action and, to my satisfaction, it does not feel like it was a mandatory thing, part of a formula TV production; story-wise it was inevitable and that nuance makes a difference for the enthusiasts of the movie genre. The other two brothers in the series help support and move the story along. The series is not ambiguous about its theme, blind brotherly love and family loyalty, and not shy expressing its consequences. What pleased me most about the series was the narration by a character, Joey, very well played by Keith Nobbs, and the pretext for that narration; it's a concept that worked well. I give the series a lesser and fairer rating and acknowledge I liked it, but I won't go out of my way to promote it or recommend it. I recommended the two "Boodock Saints" movies, enough amateur movie critic karma damage for this reviewer.

philip-rogan I give this show a 2 because with one of the most highly paid scriptwriters around it is an awful unbelievable mess. Also as I am Irish I am horrified at the moronocity of almost all the Irish characters but even more so at the level of lazy, sloppy, bad writing. Every problem is easily solved though the actors are required to look like it's difficult when they are given magic outs left right and center. All the other reviews that are negative about this show are right and those that are 90% positive are blindly ignoring the mess that this show is. I bought the box set and so wish I never had. The Tommy character is quite engaging but that's about it and Dokey is suitable evil, Ma is daft and so are the other three brothers. The Italians are uninteresting and lack any real menace and any comparisons with The Departed are silly as mob/Irish is the only connection. Pure Rubbish! Feel somewhat better now though I've only watched 4.5 episodes over a 5 month period (it's that bad!) In fact it's BXllXCKS!!

sonicdeathmonkey83 I'll admit when I first saw the previews for it I instantly thought "Departed Ripoff." Then I watched it and didn't think this cast was going to be very convincing. Watching the first episode I was thinking this is going nowhere then the end of the episode took me off guard. I kept watching the series and slowly I liked it more and more. The characters and the story developed nicely.Most people who hated it either A) were Studio 60 fans (god knows why) B) gave up on it before it truly picked up C) dismissed it has a Departed rip off or D) thought it should either take place in Boston or a few decades ago in NYC. Little known fact that this show was actually written BEFORE the Departed sometime during the late 80's or early 90's I believe, which is why it takes place in Hell's Kitchen. The neighborhood at that point still had it's Irish population before the yuppies moved in. They just updated the time and didn't bother to change the location. It's forgivable.I think if the show was picked up by HBO or Showtime or even FX it could truly reach it's full potential. Why this was canceled and some of the drivel that is on TV remains I have no idea.