Michael Stahl (top left), Billy Lush, Thomas Guiry and Jonathan Tucker play four Irish-American brothers who get involved with the mob in The Black Donnellys.

As a title, The Black Donnellys means something to Canadians. But is the historical significance lost on most Americans?

"It's lost on all of them, of course," said Paul Haggis, an Academy Award-winning writer/director and native of London, Ont., when discussing his new television series on NBC (Global has the Canadian rights).

Just to be perfectly clear, The Black Donnellys is not about the real Black Donnellys, five of whom were murdered in an infamous massacre in Lucan, Ont., in 1880.

Rather, the TV show The Black Donnellys is about four pretty-boy brothers of Irish descent living in a New York borough who try to protect each other as they descend into the world of organized crime.

So why did Haggis -- who won two Academy Awards (including best picture) for his movie Crash last year, and is nominated for another writing Oscar tomorrow for his work on Clint Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima -- adopt a very Canadian name for a very American TV saga?

"There was an emotional truth that we thought was intriguing when I told Bobby (Moresco, co-creator) the story of the Black Donnellys," said Haggis, who took part in a conference call along with Moresco yesterday.

"Obviously you want to use a title that is not literal, and certainly this one isn't. The original title was The Truth According To Johnny Ice Cream."

Hmmm. Network execs thought that was a tad esoteric. Best to leave it melting in the sun.

"So the family (in the show) was called the Donnellys, and we played with the theme that came out of the massacre," Haggis said. "There was something about the level of intolerance in that community -- 'They are the bad people and we are the good people,' and the good people then massacred the bad people.

"I thought, well, this speaks to what we're doing here, because we're asking you to empathize with murderers and drug-dealers. But then, this definitely is a tragedy. You pretty much get the sense of doom from the first frame. This ain't going to end well for anybody."

Haggis said he and Moresco originally wrote this show back in 1996, following the demise of Haggis' series EZ Streets on CBS.

"This was something we tried to do with CBS over the years and it just wasn't a fit for them," Haggis said. "And we sort of gave up trying about five years ago.

"I don't think we learned a damn thing," Haggis added when asked if his initial failure to sell the series had taught him anything. "At the time we were told, 'Don't you guys get it? No one wants to see a continuing story over 24 episodes.' And then 24 hit and a lot of other shows, and now people say, 'Don't you see, that's the only thing people want.' "

The Black Donnellys is littered with relatively unknown actors, despite the fact Haggis' pedigree certainly could have attracted big names had he wanted to go that route.

"I hate them," said Haggis, tongue firmly in cheek, when asked about the young cast of The Black Donnellys. "They make me feel old and fat and bald."

The Black Donnellys will have a staggered debut in Canada. Tomorrow night it will air on Global in Alberta only; then on Monday it will air on Global in the rest of Canada, as well as on NBC.

Of course, Haggis will have other things on his mind tomorrow night. How does he handicap his chances of winning another Oscar?

"Oh, I don't," he said with a laugh. "I think it's fabulous to be nominated, and that's it."

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