- Network: ABC
- Series Premiere Date: Sep 29, 2013
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Critic Reviews
- Critic score
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A dark gem of a show.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Adapted from the Dutch series Overspel (adultery), Betrayal is consistently overwrought.
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The acting lacks conviction, but with a script this predictably sudsy, acting chops aren't at the top of the required list.
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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.
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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.
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Sex, treachery, murder: Betrayal is a show with everything--except decent writing, believable characters, and anything else that would provide a reason to watch.
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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.
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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.
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While it may not be the worst new show of the season, it feels like the least essential.
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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.
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Not even James Cromwell can breathe life into this.
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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.
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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.
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It's all so sluggishly written, acted and directed that you might find yourself pining for the glory days of Red Widow.
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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.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 31 out of 48
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Mixed: 6 out of 48
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Negative: 11 out of 48
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Jan 12, 2014
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Dec 1, 2013
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Feb 20, 2015