Betty: Season 1

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Ratings

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6.5

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6.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Ratings

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Betty

Now Playing: Betty

Season Details & Credits

HBO | Season Premiere Date: May 1, 2020

Summary: Janay (Dede Lovelace), Honeybear (Moonbear), Kirt (Nina Moran), Indigo (Ajani Russell), and Camille (Rachelle Vinberg) are a group of young women skateboarders living in New York City and dealing with the male-dominated world of skateboarding in this series based on Crystal Moselle's 2018 film, Skate Kitchen.

Genre(s): Drama

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Season 1 Episodes

tbd
S1:E6. Ladies on Fire
Air Date: June 5, 2020
tbd
S1:E5. Perstephanie
Air Date: May 29, 2020
tbd
S1:E4. The Tombs
Air Date: May 22, 2020

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Metascore

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Mixed:

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Critic Reviews

Robert Lloyd

May 1, 2020

It’s a show about being young. It feels innocent, which is not to say naive. And it is appropriately, almost casually exhilarating. ... The strength of “Betty” is not in its plotted moments but its more existential ones, evocative of an age when small things can seem terribly important and big things too far off to think about, when time is boundless and space a place to be skated. Read full review

Caroline Framke

Apr 27, 2020

Director Crystal Moselle and writer Lesley Arfin get to not only explore their lives in more detail, but indulge in more visual and narrative grace notes that make falling into the Bettys’ world that much easier and more immersive. ... Every actor is the kind of good that’s harder to absorb at first; they’re so immediately comfortable in their roles and rhythms that the show often feels more like a documentary than a scripted show. But it is, and an especially well-plotted one given that it only has six episodes to give everyone a decently satisfying arc. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Robert Daniels

Apr 30, 2020

With lyrical camerawork that evocatively glides just above the pavement, a group of actors whose work pays greater dividends with every successive minute, and its sharp writing, "Betty" is a spontaneous and deeply sincere drama about living and skating freely. Read full review

The Guardian Adrian Horton

Apr 29, 2020

The series, like Skate Kitchen, features beautifully propulsive sequences of skateboarding across New York, but shines brightest in its most stripped-down, documentary-adjacent moments of mundane girl talk. Read full review

The Daily Beast Cassie Da Costa

Apr 29, 2020

Betty succeeds by expressing the unregulated joy of skateboarding—especially its grounding in the streets and outside of societal prescriptions of success and respectability. In fact, it’s a relief to watch a show about young women that does not demand their superiority or achievement in any conventional sense, but instead shows what might happen if you leave them be. Read full review

The Playlist Lena Wilson

Oct 5, 2020

“Betty” may be imperfect, but it is incredibly refreshing in its girl power politics. Read full review

Rafer Guzmán

Apr 29, 2020

Moselle’s camera lingers on them lovingly — but nobody thought to give these characters much in the way of real personalities. Read full review

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6.5

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User Reviews

angelsanzcorrea

Jun 9, 2020

Beautiful show full of heart, attitude and gorgeous photography. While the themes and overarching story are quite light and addressed to teens, they still carry powerful messages. This 39yo man and his wife loved it. Oh how I wished this type of TV existed when me and my friends were kids...Beautiful show full of heart, attitude and gorgeous photography. While the themes and overarching story are quite light and addressed to teens, they still carry powerful messages. This 39yo man and his wife loved it. Oh how I wished this type of TV existed when me and my friends were kids... Particularly helpful for girls at that age. How helpful would it have been to see all these positive messages about friendship, love, understanding, empathy and care for your loved ones and for minorities and fringe groups. Bravo.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

ChrisWatches

Dec 17, 2020

Really enjoyable escape. This took me back to my youth and reminded of what it was like growing up in a big city, going on sometimes reckless adventures, and coming up with schemes to get out of trouble whenever things went sideways.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

masterdirk

May 25, 2020

I guess it has to be your thing. Skateboarding young people, smoking weed, doing random stuff, getting into trouble, being lesbian, being annoying. It's not my thing.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

Pianxdf

Jul 20, 2022

Me encanta que si tenga una buena representación del skate y también que las actrices sean skater.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

metabad

May 31, 2020

Well, if you're a female skater in that age range, you might be into it.
But skater or not, after watching 5 episodes, I'm wondering who would stick with this show.
It may be based on a real group of female skaters, but, you know, real life can be boring. And watching those charactersWell, if you're a female skater in that age range, you might be into it.
But skater or not, after watching 5 episodes, I'm wondering who would stick with this show.

It may be based on a real group of female skaters, but, you know, real life can be boring.
And watching those characters talking and having said nothing interesting for 5 episodes,
is neither fun nor entertaining, no matter how much it's based on real events.
When I was that age, we talked about things we experienced, saw, heard, pop culture, movies, shows music. Things, we cared about. But the characters in that show seem to be interested in very few things.

And, while skateboarding is fun, watching some people doing nothing more than basic stuff
on their skateboards gets boring quickly.

The show is very episodic, there is no overarching story line and it's the same things happening
over and over again. Skateboarding, getting high, meeting people, talking blah blah, getting
in trouble...again. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Btw, did you know that being stoned and talking nonsense can be fun when you do it, but
is absolutely uninteresting when you watch other people do it?
If not, you'll learn watching this show.

A note to the writers:
It's 2020, and saying to someone "She's gay!!!" doesn't raise any eyebrows these days.
And trying to pretend people would be even a little shocked because someone is gay is simply embarrassing, especially when the show's story takes place in New York!

The show is based on a movie I haven't seen.
While the idea, the 'story' and the characters may be enough for a feature film, there is
clearly not enough material presented to hold up your interest for an entire season.
If the show had distinct and interesting protagonists each having their distinct take on life united
by a common passion, the show could be forgiven the lack of a real story.
But this is not that kind of show.
If you want to check it out, watch 3 episodes. That's what you'll get at least the next 3 episodes.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

Seasons & Episodes

76

Series Overview
Season 2

75
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: June 11, 2021
Season 1

77
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: May 1, 2020
- tbd
  S1:E6. Ladies on Fire
  Air Date: June 5, 2020
- tbd
  S1:E5. Perstephanie
  Air Date: May 29, 2020
- tbd
  S1:E4. The Tombs
  Air Date: May 22, 2020
- tbd
  S1:E3. Happy Birthday, Tyler
  Air Date: May 15, 2020
- tbd
  S1:E2. Zen and the Art of Skateboarding
  Air Date: May 8, 2020
- tbd
  S1:E1. Key Party
  Air Date: May 1, 2020