Animal Kingdom
TNT | Release Date: June 14, 2016
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
12
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Colorado Springs GazetteTerry TerronesJun 13, 2016
Season 1 Review: Clever, dangerous and cinematically produced, Animal Kingdom is must-see TV. Read full review
83
The Detroit NewsTom LongJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: As gritty, dysfunctional family, crime-fueled dramas go, Animal Kingdom roars with dark promise. Read full review
83
NewsdayVerne GayJun 13, 2016
Season 1 Review: The most interesting character, or certainly most compelling, is Barkin’s Smurf. She’s a Ma Barker with cleavage, a brownie-baking Gemma Teller (“Sons of Anarchy”). Ultimately, she may be the one to seal the pact here. Read full review
80
ColliderAllison KeeneMay 30, 2017
Season 2 Review: This time the threat comes from within, and it’s a more interesting tension. And yet, even with all of the lies and cheating and occasional murder, there’s still something serene about watching Craig count money while having a beer on the beach with his brothers. Read full review
80
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: They’re not a sympathetic collection of characters, but they can be compelling in their twistedness. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: The concerned viewer will of course want him [J] to get as far away from them [the Codys] as possible, somewhere he can do his math homework in peace. At the same time, most every character gives you something to relate to; each has his secrets and cares. Executive producer John Wellsdirected the opening episodes; and the series is expertly made, and subtler than the premise suggests. Read full review
80
ColliderAllison KeeneJun 10, 2016
Season 1 Review: It’s a measured portrait of a complicated family that gives some credit to its audience. Read full review
75
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: It’s too easy to think of this family as sharks. Sharks are much kinder to their young. Animal Kingdom bites hard and doesn’t let up. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubDanette ChavezJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: As the (unofficially) adopted son, Baz has always had more to prove than his siblings, but that status also motivates him to get out of Smurf’s thrall. Animal Kingdom could similarly hold sway over its audience, as long as it plays to the strengths of its cast. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandJun 13, 2016
Season 1 Review: Lisco and his writers do a good job weaving a compelling narrative, one that’s filled with action, but more significantly defined by the complexity of the individual characters. Read full review
75
The Lincoln Journal StarJeff KorbelikJun 13, 2016
Season 1 Review: Oh my goodness is this one filled with testosterone, reminding me a bit of FX’s “Sons of Anarchy.” ... Watch for Shawn Hatosy (“Southland”). He's creepy good as the whacko son with a mean streak. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyJeff JensenJun 10, 2016
Season 1 Review: A surfboard Sons of Anarchy adapted from an acclaimed 2010 Aussie flick, Animal Kingdom lives at the intersection of Polished Cable Pulp and Who Cares? The performances are good enough to enliven the antihero familiarity. Read full review
70
The Salt Lake TribuneScott D. PierceJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: Animal Kingdom is not exactly a cerebral series. It's a show about guys doing guy things, complete with action sequences. And the characters are intriguing--although a little bit of Barkin goes a long way. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredIsaac Feldberg Jun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: Animal Kingdom has a lot going for it, and its adrenaline-junkie characters benefit from not being weighed down by more dramatic darkness than they warrant. In particular, it’s a joy to watch Barkin sink her teeth into a role as juicy as Smurf. Read full review
67
IndieWireBen TraversJun 10, 2016
Season 1 Review: It’s hard to shake the feeling this is another show without a protagonist; a remnant from the previous decade where antiheroes reigned and genuine do-gooders were passé. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJun 10, 2016
Season 1 Review: Animal Kingdom is superficial and derivative of countless other films and crime shows, lacking the nihilistic heat of its source material and the transcendently elegant formality of Point Break. But it also decadently relishes in the objectification of both genders with amusing shamelessness. Read full review
60
TimeDaniel D'AddarioJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: There’s just enough cliché here to make Animal Kingdom as comfortable as air-conditioning. But Ellen Barkin’s reinvention of the Smurf role, finding new provocations in the already provocatively written role of a grandma crime boss, is a pleasant jolt. Read full review
60
Los Angeles Daily NewsRob LowmanJun 13, 2016
Season 1 Review: While the two-hour movie was a wild ride, slow the pace down for television and the boys aren’t as much fun to hang with. Barkin is the best reason to watch. Always a restlessly interesting actress, Smurf gives her lots to play with, and she makes the role her own. Read full review
60
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenJun 10, 2016
Season 1 Review: Animal Kingdom, based on a 2010 Australian film of the same title, won’t be to everyone’s taste, but fans of dark, family criminal enterprise shows (think: “Sons of Anarchy,” “Outsiders”) might be intrigued. Read full review
58
Uncle BarkyEd BarkJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: Animal Kingdom is nowhere near in the same league as The Americans or Fargo or the recently ended Justified. And if it’s trying to be Sons of Anarchy ... well, I think most viewers finally had enough of that, too. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushJun 16, 2016
Season 1 Review: This crowded house becomes a power keg of divided loyalties and jealousies, often playing out in reckless games of chicken that soon grow tiresome. [20-26 Jun 2016, p.16]
50
The WrapTim GriersonJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: Highlighted by a deliciously sleazy turn from Ellen Barkin, Animal Kingdom slowly finds its footing, but it remains to be seen whether the characters’ low-life machinations will produce sufficient drama to justify audiences’ patience. Read full review
50
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: Take away the heists (and maybe Smurf's more extreme displays of affection), and you're left with a family whose dysfunctions--greed, drugs, mental illness, and the like--aren't so rare, however much they may endanger the species. Read full review
50
The New York TimesMike HaleJun 13, 2016
Season 1 Review: Even though Animal Kingdom is at the dark end of the network’s street, the material has been watered down and jazzed up, and characters have been redrawn to fit the larger-than-life requirements of American cable drama. ... For the TV show, [Smurf (Ellen Barkin) has] been turned into a more obvious, less interesting Ma Barker character, pulling the strings for her sons and skimming the profits. Read full review
50
VarietyMaureen RyanJun 13, 2016
Season 1 Review: Though the cast is packed with solid actors clearly eager to play morally shady thieves, the characters are not written with the kind of depth and texture that would make the Cody family’s crime sprees, troubled relationships, and simmering arguments worth following. Read full review
50
TVLineCharlie MasonJun 9, 2016
Season 1 Review: It’s hard not to root for the Codys to get busted--or worse. And that seems like it could be a big problem for the series going forward. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanJun 14, 2016
Season 1 Review: Great shows don't have to be this eager and this sloppy and this obvious. TNT will need to make Animal Kingdom improve significantly over the next several episodes if the series wants a shot at survival. Read full review
40
Yahoo TVKen TuckerJun 13, 2016
Season 1 Review: The problem with Animal Kingdom is that we’ve seen so many dark, gritty family noirs on basic and premium cable, much of the air of menace that hovers over the new show seems like musty air rechanneled from other sources. It also doesn’t help to center the show around J--the character is a blank-faced kid whose reactions are minimally interesting. Read full review
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