Allegiance (2015)
NBC | Release Date: February 5, 2015
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
17
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Newark Star-LedgerVicki HymanFeb 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: The set-ups are disparate enough [from "The Americans"], and Allegiance's twisty allegiances, are promising enough not to dismiss the show out of hand. Read full review
75
New York PostRobert RorkeJan 28, 2015
Season 1 Review: Allegiance takes a potentially preposterous situation and makes it provocative. Read full review
70
Boston GlobeSarah RodmanFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: While Allegiance covers some of the same ground as both FX’s excellent period drama “The Americans” and Showtime’s resurgent “Homeland,” Nolfi and crew do a good job, particularly within the constraints of a broadcast network, differentiating their show’s mission. Read full review
70
The New York TimesAlessandra StanleyFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: This espionage thriller is still a fairly conventional network series and not nearly as subtle and complex as “The Americans.” That doesn’t mean the NBC version is unwatchable, though, just more homogenized and predictable. Read full review
70
Denver PostJoanne OstrowFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: While the hour is entertaining and moves briskly, it lacks the subtlety (not to mention violence, great opening credits and bad wigs) of The Americans. Read full review
70
VarietyBrian LowryFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: Allegiance certainly won’t win many points for originality, but the episodes do clip along on a serialized basis, keeping the principals constantly scheming to stay one step ahead of the two sides between which they’re caught. Read full review
70
San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesChuck BarneyFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: Allegiance does a decent job of propping up its crazy premise with some juicy intrigue and solid performances, though Stenhouse comes off as rather bland. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalDorothy RabinowitzJan 23, 2015
Season 1 Review: A series both formulaic and limited in the writing department, Allegiance shows no signs of the immense ambitiousness of “The Americans.” ... The theme [of sleeper agents] does its work and carries Allegiance, as do Hope Davis, outstanding as the desperate Katya, and Scott Cohen, impressive in the role of her husband. Read full review
67
Uncle BarkyEd BarkFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: Its lead characters for the most part are appealing and accessible, even if their machinations aren’t always well-oiled. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyJeff JensenJan 23, 2015
Season 1 Review: The premise strains credulity, and the setup is convoluted. Yet the spycraft is fun, an affecting cast makes you care. [30 Jan/6 Feb 2015, p.123]
63
USA TodayRobert BiancoFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: What NBC most likely wanted was a less intense, more audience-friendly mass-market entertainment with a clear hero and a leavening sense of humor. And that's what George Nolfi, who based his series on an Israeli show, has provided. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: Allegiance is a broadcast network series that doesn't have the writing or the acting chops to compete with its FX counterpart. The series is, however, entertaining on its own merits. Read full review
60
Washington PostHank StueverJan 27, 2015
Season 1 Review: Allegiance’s real mission, like “The Americans,” is to draw us into a believable family crisis and, in that regard, the show’s results are mixed. Some performances are strong (particularly from Davis and Stenhouse) and the first three episodes demonstrate a knack for getting everyone — viewers included--to hang together off the same cliff right at the 57-minute mark. Read full review
58
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardFeb 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: The first three episodes are essentially capers involving spy chasing spy as angst-ridden Russians try to defect, the CIA tries to get to them and the SVR sics the O’Connors on everyone. Read full review
58
NewsdayVerne GayFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: Allegiance is a curious duck, indeed. Smart and sophisticated certainly, but -- occasionally--a bit dim-bulbed and hokey, too. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJoshua AlstonFeb 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: Even when it’s fun, Allegiance doesn’t do anything The Americans isn’t doing far better. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraFeb 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: Early episodes are, regrettably, filled with television tropes. Still, Allegiance could evolve into the show it clearly hopes to be. But only if it plays to its strength, which is to say Hope Davis. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandFeb 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: The problem is that Allegiance seems to have painted itself into a corner with its overwrought premise. It dictates that at least once an episode. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonFeb 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: The pace is generally fast enough to distract from the convoluted plot. Read full review
50
Las Vegas WeeklyJosh BellFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: Without the nuanced characters and slow-building suspense of The Americans, Allegiance is just a preposterous thriller. That puts it right at home on NBC, but still far behind its obvious inspiration. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandFeb 2, 2015
Season 1 Review: Allegiance is a competent thriller. But bushwablocking is easier said than done as the labyrinthine family dynamic dominates each of the three episodes sent to critics for review. Read full review
50
Cleveland Plain DealerMark DawidziakJan 30, 2015
Season 1 Review: the pilot episode is briskly paced and told with a certain amount of flair. Technically, it's not without merit..... [But] It needs to get smart or risk being exposed as a pale impostor lurking among the elite TV operatives. Read full review
42
HitfixAlan SepinwallFeb 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: It's not terrible, but rather aggressively mediocre. Read full review
40
Yahoo TVKen TuckerFeb 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: Allegiance, set in the present-day, is at attempt to be a thoughtful drama about the differences between loyalty to family and loyalty to country, but its atmosphere is as drab as an early John LeCarre novel, without the prickly dialogue or tricky plotting.... And: We lost Parenthood to this? Read full review
40
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenFeb 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: Allegiance is not terrible, although its characters are paper-thin, and, beyond feeling derivative, the show isn’t all that credible. Read full review
40
SalonSonia SaraiyaFeb 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: Allegiance does not demonstrate any of that careful planning; indeed, it is almost exactly the same thing as “The Americans,” except executed less well, with the complexities sanded off. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyFeb 4, 2015
Season 1 Review: The story lines feel a bit contrived, though, and the action sometimes a trifle forced. We like the spies better than their thriller. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushFeb 3, 2015
Season 1 Review: The potentially suspenseful premise is undercut by plodding storytelling and a cast lacking chemistry. [1-15 Feb 2015, p.16]
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