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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
17
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews
Aug 13, 2017TV Guide MagazineAug 3, 2017
Season 1 Review:
Terrific and moving family comedy, which can make you laugh out loud then choke back tears with the manipulative panache of This Is Us. [7-20 Aug 2017, p.17]
Sep 5, 2018
Season 2 Review:
Season 2 helps further break the preconceived mold that this is "The Autism Family Show." While Sam's disorder provides a unique perspective to the world of Atypical, the show is about so much more than that. Season 2 pushes this even further, as it was supposed to do, and finds new ways to enlighten, inspire and surprise by endearing us deeper to its characters.
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The GuardianJul 9, 2021
Season 4 Review:
It spins its many plates with skill. ... Not every storyline hits the high notes, and there is a definite sense, as the season progresses, that Atypical is winding down, having run its course and said what it needed to say. But it is a beautiful show, celebrating difference, adaptability and an open-hearted approach to life. In the sometimes stagnant world of half-hour sitcoms, it is refreshingly itself.
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Aug 10, 2017
Season 1 Review:
The series is as compassionate as it is snarky, pairing a deep understanding about everyday life on the spectrum with a sense of humor rarely found in productions that deal with autism. “Atypical” risks offending some, but it does more good than harm by demystifying a sensitive and painful subject with an unapologetic candor.
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Jul 27, 2017
Season 1 Review:
A show like this sinks or swims on the lead performance, though, and Gilchrist (who previously played gay son Marshall on United States of Tara) makes the whole thing work as Sam. ... Gilchrist’s performance is so strong, in fact, that Atypical suffers a bit whenever Sam’s off-screen.
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Aug 14, 2017
Season 1 Review:
In its finest moments Atypical is warmhearted, sincere, funny, and shrewd. It’s hard to tell whether its inconsistency is due to a blurry conception of what tone it should strike, or whether producers simply wanted to appeal to as broad a swathe of potential viewers as possible--the show skews so wildly from slapstick to gritty drama to teen soap to family sitcom that it should come with Dramamine.
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UPROXXAug 9, 2017
Season 1 Review:
There’s a very important, delicate line that a comedy like this can’t cross: the one where it could be seen as inviting viewers to laugh at Sam’s many quirks (his obsession with penguins and all other things Antarctic, for instance). Atypical never crosses it--Gilchrist’s performance is too sincere and vulnerable to allow it--but at times a lot of the whimsy is generated from how exasperated his loved ones are at dealing with him.
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Aug 9, 2017
Season 1 Review:
When Atypical keeps its focus on the teen characters, including Sam’s ready-to- leap-to-his-defense younger sister, Casey (an outstanding Brigette Lundy-Paine), the series is at its best if sometimes most familiar. The show turns more annoyingly soapy when it turns to Sam’s father, Doug (Michael Rappaport), and mother, Elsa (Jennifer Jason Leigh).
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Sep 4, 2018
Season 2 Review:
The result is distinguished by admirably low-key performances, much like in season one, but it doesn’t rise to the level of must-watch. ... It ambles along, showing us people struggling with the stuff of life without making that struggle compelling enough to make me fully invested in it.
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Aug 7, 2017
Season 1 Review:
[Show creator Robia Rashid has] twisted characters and plot elements in service to message first and art or entertainment second. The last of the eight episodes sets up a second season with a completely artificial and manipulative story twist. Fortunately, Gilchrist and several supporting cast members hold our interest and justify a second season for the show in spite of its flaws.
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Aug 7, 2017
Season 1 Review:
Gilchrist's performance is so good it can steer away from much of the tone trouble. The same is mostly true for Rapaport. But Atypical keeps backsliding, becoming unbelievable and poorly written and executed faster than you can say "ABC Afterschool Special." Repeatedly wrongheaded decisions, mostly from Elsa, turn Atypical into a contrived mess shockingly fast; you watch it go from potential Netflix gem to no-thanks network hash in roughly four episodes.
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