The girl at the diner: Jenny Reilly

Jenny Reilly is played by actress Olivia Wilde. Jenny, a quiet Irish
Catholic tomboy, grew up alongside the Donnelly brothers. Jenny is
unselfish when it comes to her own family which is comprised of just
her father and herself as she has no mother around. She works at her
father's diner and cares for him and has no other aspirations as she
is not given that opportunity. Jenny, after only a year of marriage,
becomes the widow of an estranged husband. Her husband is rumored to
be (and mostly likely is) dead due to his own debts which are unknown to Jenny.

There is a lovelorn romance that exists between Tommy Donnelly
and Jenny as there is with most dramatic storylines. Tommy is viewed as the
protagonist and Jenny the love interest in the series. Tommy tries
his best to protect Jenny and the Reilly family in any way that he
can even though Mr. Reilly despises the Donnelly family. Jenny
constantly struggles with her feelings for Tommy and feels the need
to understand herself before she can pursue her own desires. As
Olivia Wilde stated in an interview, "I
think when we enter into their story, she's just learning about how
it's impossible to ignore your own innermost needs and desires."

This is something that we see predominantly in the episode entitled
"Lies", where Jenny makes a terrible mistake by misleading a local delivery man named Samson who we find out later has an obsession with Jenny that turns into
rage and resentment. After her encounter with Samson, Jenny visits the church and is unable to find a resolution to her problems but decides to start fresh in the best way she can. Jenny is a character who has pride and rarely
asks for help. In the season finale, you'll see she is violated by Samson and later takes matters into her own hands when she forced to defend herself against him. After taking such action, it will now be increasingly difficult for her to find her identity and fresh start.

While Olivia Wilde has been recently cast in a recurring role on FOX's "House", we will best remember her as portraying one of The Black Donnellys complex and loved characters, Jenny Reilly.

Joey Ice Cream

I Always Wanted Brothers Like That . . .

So goes the famous line uttered by one of The Black Donnellys’ most controversial characters, Joey Ice Cream.

Joey Ice Cream, portrayed by Keith Nobbs , is the fifth-wheel kid from down the block who idolizes the Donnelly brothers and tags along after them like man's best friend on a leash. Joey is there when the Donnellys are celebrating and he’s there when the Donnellys are in trouble. In fact, Joey’s there so often that sometimes the viewers forget all about him—that is, until the cops remind us that Joey’s in jail and he’s the reason we know so much about the Donnelly brothers. Because Joey knows everything there is to know about the Donnellys. And for some viewers, that’s just too much. However, for others, Joey Ice Cream’s all-knowing storytelling is just one more thing that makes The Black Donnellys the most underrated show of this past television season.

Joey Ice Cream’s character is what is known in literary terms as an unreliable narrator or a narrator whose version of events just doesn’t fully ring true for the audience. In Joey’s case, most of the time the viewers don’t know whether the story he’s telling is the truth or whether he is intentionally misleading the cops (and the audience). For instance, in the pilot episode when he’s explaining his unusual nickname, Joey states that he was given the nickname Joey “Ice Cream” because he’s like “ice” under pressure. However, later in the episode we learn that Joey was, in fact, given his nickname simply because he liked ice cream so much. Moments like this make the viewers wonder how much they can really rely on the information they’re receiving from Joey and whether or not there’s some hidden meaning yet to be disclosed.

Interestingly, even though we know from the first moment of the pilot episode that Joey Ice Cream is in jail, we have no idea how he got there. Likewise, even though we’re pretty sure that Joey is stretching the truth (a lot!), we have no idea why he’s making up stories and lying to the police. Is he a pathological liar? Maybe. Does he overestimate his own importance or have a need to be the center of attention? Probably. Is he protecting the Donnelly brothers? Most definitely.

In the end, we are left with more questions than answers when it comes to Joey Ice Cream and, by the time we reach the season finale, only one thing is certain—Joey loves the Donnelly brothers and would do anything to be part of their family. To understand any more than that, we need a second season of The Black Donnellys.

Now that’s the truth according to Joey Ice Cream . . . for what it’s worth.

**For more information about the Save The Black Donnellys campaign, visit www.savetheblackdonnellys.net.

Meet Sean Donnelly

Over the past few days you have been introduced to Tommy, Kevin and Jimmy Donnelly. Today you will meet the last Donnelly brother, Sean Donnelly.


Sean Donnelly, portrayed by Michael Stahl-David , is the baby of the Donnelly clan and he is the ladies man! The brothers don't want any of their soon to be girlfriends to meet Sean because Sean would be off with them in a heartbeat. I don't want to paint the wrong picture of Sean...he isn't necessarily a player, he has a sweet heart and disposition.

Sean also wants to be involved in what his brothers are doing but they will not let their baby brother get mixed up in their dealings—especially after he was beaten-up by the Italians. Sean resents his brothers for protecting him from the family problems and only allowing him to be the “beverage manager” at the bar. But Sean soon forgets all about the family troubles when he meets a girl at the Jukebox store.

We are not really sure what Sean wants to do with his life other than hang with a girl or involve himself in his brothers activities. Ma Donnelly pushes Sean to go back to school but he doesn’t seem too interested…that is until he finds out that Jukebox girl is in school and decides that going back to school would be a great way to impress her!


We don't get to know Sean as in depth as we do the other brothers...so stay tuned, and fight for The Black Donnellys season two because we know there is much more to come!!!!

**Don’t forget to pre-order The Black Donnellys on DVD at Amazon.

The Black Donnellys – the brothers continued….

We gave you two days to learn more about The Black Donnellys' lead character, Tommy Donnelly. Today you will get a chance to understand an equally complex brother, Jimmy Donnelly.

Jimmy Donnelly, portrayed by Tom Guiry , is the eldest Donnelly but is far from the wisest brother. He can best be described as a loaded gun and is always looking for the next opportunity to self-destruct. Jimmy's erratic behavior is further fueled by his alcoholism and drug abuse. However, we learn over time that Jimmy's behavior is more of a front that he puts on in attempt to camouflage the guilt and insecurity that he's carried with him since he was a child. While Jimmy is seen as physically weak due to his crippled leg, he desires to be stronger by other means and wants the respect that his younger brother Tommy has. Thus Jimmy tries to make up for what he lacks physically with his headstrong emotions and irrational and blunt behavior. Though it's hard to feel sympathy for Jimmy sometimes, he certainly is not a monster. Instead, he's just a lost soul who blames himself for his father's death and for his youngest brother Sean's severe beating--a beating that was the result of Jimmy's own misdeeds.

One thing is clear from the outset though--Jimmy doesn't think anything through, he just reacts. A great example is his involvement in Louie “Downtown”'s murder. By kidnapping Louie Downtown, Jimmy causes his brother Sean's beating which in turn leads to Jimmy killing Louie Downtown which eventually leads to repercussions for the entire Donnelly family. Tommy, as the second oldest, continues to pick up the pieces and Jimmy, while he loves his brothers, continues to lead them deeper and deeper into the life they never wanted.

As Tommy said, "Don't you care about anybody?" Jimmy's only reply is, "You're right. I forgot, Tommy. You're the big savior. I'm the scumbag!"

Jimmy does mean well and does place family above all. Why else would he have shot Louie “Downtown” if not to avenge Sean's near-death beating by the Italians?

Interestingly, one of Jimmy's greatest achievements so far has been refurbishing The Firecracker, the Donnelly's family bar. In fact, Jimmy is so proud of the bar that he purchased a new sign for it. The new sign, which features a “cracker” and a “flame,” represents a new beginning for the Donnelly brothers, according to Jimmy.

From the pilot to the finale, we learn more and more about Jimmy that explains why he is the way he is and we are left to wonder if Jimmy will change further as the show progresses. The season finale made us think that he might begin to change his ways but ultimately left us hanging . . . As of now, we can only speculate, but we can find out if you join us in the fight for season two!!!