Believe
NBC | Release Date: March 10, 2014
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
17
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: When Believe tries to be meaningful, it's also at its most obvious, and the show could prove to be too willfully touching for its own good. But it doesn't seem impossible to me that they could get the mix right. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: Believe does require a few leaps of belief from viewers. The law seems surprisingly indifferent, for instance, to locating this escaped Death Row inmate. Still, with its seriously flawed “hero” and a girl who’s hard to resist, Believe could be an interesting ride. Read full review
60
Washington PostHank StueverMar 6, 2014
Season 1 Review: Believe works best as a relentless chase scene. The first episode (directed by Cuarón) has some limberness to its movement, but, like so much else in this particular genre, produces a lukewarm result. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubBrandon NowalkMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: Believe is thoroughly devoted to its feel-good ideals, like cascading compassion and non-violence.... In lesser hands, Believe could come off like a knockoff-Terrence Malick life insurance ad. But for all his spirituality, Cuarón’s an earthy director. Read full review
58
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: There are two last-minute twists that stretch and nearly break any credulity. Read full review
50
Newark Star-LedgerVicki HymanMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: The pilot is at its best when Cuaron's visual choreography takes center stage; at its worst, when any of the characters open their mouths. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: The chase scenes are great, a special-effects scene toward the end of the episode is great, but the mix of action-suspense, supernatural and schmaltz doesn't quite blend well. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: Neither the plot nor the characters are sufficiently evocative to suggest that viewers will want to spend months, much less years, following them. Read full review
50
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: An OK (but visually unexceptional) pilot that does little to set viewers up for what the show will be on a week-to-week basis. Read full review
50
PopMattersCynthia FuchsMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: That Bo’s gifts remain somewhat beyond her control or comprehension makes her a puzzle but also predictable. Bo will indeed be on a winding road, as she must be just a bit of a person who will irritate and mystify her jokester-action-hero protector, as she must seem both odd and sympathetic to the adults watching her, in her world and in yours. Read full review
50
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: Believe doesn't do nearly enough to stand out, beyond some very pretty blue butterflies and a declaration that only the bad guys will be carrying guns. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian LowryMar 7, 2014
Season 1 Review: Despite some beautiful images--starting with bright blue butterflies--Believe has the makings of a very old-fashioned procedural, with Tate and Bo destined to journey from place to place changing the lives of those she meets with her cryptic insights while staying one step ahead from those who would capture her. Read full review
50
The New York TimesAlessandra StanleyMar 6, 2014
Season 1 Review: The characters don’t live up to the swirling, often violent action that surrounds them. Read full review
40
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanMar 14, 2014
Season 1 Review: Believe substitutes mawkish sentiment for character development and thinks mysterious incidents and procedural beats constitute a story. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: Suspending disbelief would be a lot more enjoyable if we hadn't seen it all before. Read full review
40
SlateWilla PaskinMar 10, 2014
Season 1 Review: It is a terrible sign when a show has no sense of humor, but Believe almost has too much of it. It looks great--Cuarón, who just won an Oscar, directed, after all--but there is something off-puttingly cutesy about it. Read full review
40
Cleveland Plain DealerMark DawidziakMar 7, 2014
Season 1 Review: Sequoyah is a charmer, and a few of the action sequences help grease the wheels on this fast-paced ride. Yet it's not enough to make up for the cloying and cliched writing. 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