12 Monkeys (2015)
SyFy | Release Date: January 16, 2015
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
11
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Lincoln Journal StarJeff KorbelikJan 12, 2015
Season 1 Review: With the recent Ebola scare, the show’s premise is timely. Plus, it’s a trippy, roller coaster ride as we learn, along with Cole and Cassandra, who is responsible for killing 7 billion people. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyDarren FranichJun 11, 2018
Season 4 Review: For a show steeped in apocalyptic dread and regret, 12 Monkeys has a surprisingly light sense of humor. It helps that the cast is so rock solid. ... Here’s a world-bending time odyssey with a profound adoration for the ghosts of TV junk past. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredDavid JamesMay 15, 2017
Season 3 Review: The show only stumbles in the smaller moments. Most egregious are the lame pop culture references, with endless quoting of iconic 80s movies. ... Quibbling aside, 12 Monkeys is undeniably superior science fiction. Read full review
80
The Detroit NewsMekeisha Madden TobyFeb 25, 2015
Season 1 Review: As actors, Stanford and Schull have to convince TV audiences that they are not dishing out reheated versions of the performances Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stowe did in the original. Thankfully, that's not the case and these two actors are quite compelling as a couple of lost souls trying desperately to make things right. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: For as long as it has, 12 Monkeys works beautifully as a fast-paced sci-fi thriller that is actually far more complex. Read full review
75
Newark Star-LedgerVicki HymanJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: It's different enough from the original that you may be better off looking at it fresh, as a promising and more straightforward (okay, relatively straightforward) sci-fi adventure series with the requisite shadow conspiracy and, for those in the past, a looming Armageddon. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: It’s Stanford who will hold this thing together, and he seems up to the challenge. I’m ready to look at this whole story again with fresh eyes. It may not be quite on the level of a “Battlestar Galactica” overhaul, but, then, its source material isn’t nearly as campy. Read full review
75
NewsdayVerne GayJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: Intelligent adaptation absent the dark humor, satire--or horror--of the original. Read full review
75
Uncle BarkyEd BarkJan 15, 2015
Season 1 Review: The first two episode of 12 Monkeys move along crisply and effectively. Read full review
70
Los Angeles Daily NewsRob LowmanApr 19, 2016
Season 2 Review: k. “Sesame Street” episode. This can seem frustrating if you care, but the TV show does it all with a sense of bravado that allows you to overlook any internal logic issues. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushFeb 20, 2015
Season 1 Review: Syfy's best new show in ages. [16 Feb-1 Mar 2015, p.15]
70
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerJan 15, 2015
Season 1 Review: The series is less cryptic than the movie, more of a straightforward action drama, and that’s probably a good thing. Read full review
70
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandJan 15, 2015
Season 1 Review: The script sometimes ties itself in knots trying to explain all the theoretical physics and horology that drive the plot, but in the early going, it hangs together pretty well. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyJeff JensenJan 9, 2015
Season 1 Review: The polished, muscular pilot is more concept than substance. As far as movie-to-TV adaptions go, 12 Monkeys is far from Fargo, but at least it's watchable. [16 Jan 2015, p.71]
60
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: 12 Monkeys hums along at a reasonable pace; its pilot is pleasingly energetic and efficient.... The problem is, 12 Monkeys tends to prioritize a series of MacGuffins over attempts to deepen its characters and their relationships. Read full review
60
Las Vegas WeeklyJosh BellJan 15, 2015
Season 1 Review: It’s an entertaining genre series with some fun performances, but it doesn’t make the same lasting impression as the works that inspired it. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: The TV version of 12 Monkeys pulls apart the movie, and finds the ingredients for just another dark, violent genre show. Read full review
50
Denver PostJoanne OstrowJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: 12 Monkeys won't hook those who aren't already fans of the genre. The characters are mostly two-dimensional. The philosophical conundrums are secondary to the action. The dialogue is terribly earnest. Read full review
50
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: Through the first two episodes it’s just not enough to differentiate this series from so many conspiracy thrillers that have come before. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf SmithJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: Although the theme of toxic corporate greed is still there, the elongating of the story into many hours and the flattening of some mysteries for clarity on television may annoy devotees of the feature film. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian LowryJan 14, 2015
Season 1 Review: The problem, as always, is that the time-travel element can be disorienting from a narrative standpoint. Read full review
45
Under The RadarCody Ray ShaferJan 21, 2015
Season 1 Review: The past is suddenly malleable. This removes all the stakes, but also downgrades 12 Monkeys from fatalistic sci-fi dystopia to a predictable genre piece. Not horrible by SyFy, or even cable thriller standards, but still disappointing. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Matt Zoller SeitzJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: None of the performers can do much to enliven a show that, judging from the two episodes sent to critics, is comprised mainly of padding. Read full review
40
Yahoo TVKen TuckerJan 16, 2015
Season 1 Review: There’s a lot of body-wrenching time-travel, lots of running across blasted urban landscapes, many predictable betrayals, and entirely too many melodramatic lines such as “You are going to help me change the world, Mr. Cole.” Read full review
40
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJan 15, 2015
Season 1 Review: It’s a show that disguises its inadequacies through sheer will of pacing, sending characters running, often through time, in an effort to keep viewers from getting bored. It doesn’t quite succeed. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandJan 14, 2015
Season 1 Review: Most of the performances are pretty laughable.... It’s too bad SyFy didn’t invest more in a better script and direction. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJan 8, 2015
Season 1 Review: [A] lack of imagination pervades 12 Monkeys, both in plotting and in aesthetic. Read full review
20
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertJan 15, 2015
Season 1 Review: The series is a powerfully stupidity-ridden vision of poorly done science fiction, an inexcusably generic take on the movie. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 87 Hacks: Season 5
4 87 Industry: Season 4
5 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
6 85 The Beatles Anthology
7 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
8 85 Bait: Season 1
9 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
10 83 Lord of the Flies
11 83 Riot Women: Season 1
12 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
13 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
14 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
15 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
16 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
17 80 The Comeback: Season 3
18 80 The American Revolution
19 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
20 80 Dark Winds: Season 4
SEE ALL