Betrayal
ABC | Release Date: September 29, 2013
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
38
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
6
Negative:
10
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Miami HeraldGlenn GarvinSep 29, 2013
Season 1 Review: A dark gem of a show. Read full review
75
New York PostRobert RorkeOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: We already know things are going to go wrong; it’s just a tantalizing question of when and how.... In a TV season where some seriously lazy casting is hindering the new shows, [Hannah Ware is] a breath of fresh air: she’s subtle, assured and has an ethereal allure. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleySep 26, 2013
Season 1 Review: With law, politics, forbidden romance and the sordid doings of awful rich people all on the table, the raw material is certainly available for Betrayal to become a solid guilty pleasure. Read full review
58
NewsdayVerne GaySep 27, 2013
Season 1 Review: The fatal attraction story line is a long windup to a punchline you already know, and promos have revealed it as well. The mystery element is plopped down in the middle of that particular story like a lead MacGuffin. Read full review
50
Uncle BarkyEd BarkSep 27, 2013
Season 1 Review: Adapted from the Dutch series Overspel (adultery), Betrayal is consistently overwrought. Read full review
45
Under The RadarLily MoayeriSep 29, 2013
Season 1 Review: The acting lacks conviction, but with a script this predictably sudsy, acting chops aren't at the top of the required list. Read full review
40
Zap2it (Inside the Box)Rick PorterSep 30, 2013
Season 1 Review: You might feel bad for the wine, and maybe for the hour you could have spent doing other things. You probably won't feel bad for Sara or Jack. Read full review
40
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerSep 27, 2013
Season 1 Review: Presumably, all sorts of twists and machinations lie ahead, but the premiere doesn’t make much of a case for sticking around to see what they are. It would help if Mr. Townsend and Ms. Ware had chemistry, but they’re basically generic-looking actors playing out an unsurprising dynamic. Read full review
37
USA TodayRobert BiancoSep 27, 2013
Season 1 Review: Sex, treachery, murder: Betrayal is a show with everything--except decent writing, believable characters, and anything else that would provide a reason to watch. Read full review
30
VarietyBrian LowrySep 27, 2013
Season 1 Review: Even with a closing twist that introduces a narrative hook beyond mere adultery involving a murder trial, the show already has a strained feel in its piling on of happenstance and near misses. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandSep 27, 2013
Season 1 Review: The acting is terrible throughout, but it's hard to blame the cast, including newly minted Emmy winner Cromwell, for having to utter some of this dialogue. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubCarrie RaislerSep 25, 2013
Season 1 Review: While it may not be the worst new show of the season, it feels like the least essential. Read full review
20
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanSep 29, 2013
Season 1 Review: It never feels exciting, nor does it exhibit much of a pulse. ... It just seems disheartening to think that anyone would fall for Betrayal unless they had so many spare hours in their boring lives that losing one was no big deal. Read full review
20
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GraySep 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: Not even James Cromwell can breathe life into this. Read full review
20
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenSep 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: Dreary and dull. ... Betrayal may depict the most boring, sullen, sad-faced affair in TV history and that in itself is a betrayal of what the show promises. Read full review
20
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraSep 27, 2013
Season 1 Review: Bad things happen, as bad things will, and soon all their lives will intersect in the courtroom as well as the bedroom. If only we cared. Even a little. Read full review
20
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushSep 27, 2013
Season 1 Review: It's all so sluggishly written, acted and directed that you might find yourself pining for the glory days of Red Widow. Read full review
16
Washington PostHank StueverSep 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: So far, there’s not much here you don’t see coming from many miles away, and there’s barely enough chemistry between Ware and Townsend to make things bubble. Read full review
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