Between the World and Me
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Nov 21, 2020
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 21
  3. Negative: 9 out of 21

Review this tv show

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling

User Reviews

view
per page
  1. seel82
    Nov 22, 2020
    10
    Honestly, I'd give this a 9 but am the 3rd reviewer, and it literally just went up on HBOs site, so I'm guessing the two negative reviewers have not yet watched it.

    Coates is a great writer and an 80 minute format is very good for this topic. This was one of the better books I've read in the last decade and the live footage he has in here just expands on the points he's trying to make    Honestly, I'd give this a 9 but am the 3rd reviewer, and it literally just went up on HBOs site, so I'm guessing the two negative reviewers have not yet watched it.

    Coates is a great writer and an 80 minute format is very good for this topic. This was one of the better books I've read in the last decade and the live footage he has in here just expands on the points he's trying to make in it.

    I think the HBO release is quite good, with the worst thing I'd say about it is that I could see it being a bit harder to understand without the book. The viewing is good, no doubt, but the book is incredible.    … Expand
  2. Arkham318
    Nov 27, 2020
    10
    The negative ratings are very... suspicious, white supremacy thriving I see.
  3. LuckyJim
    Oct 19, 2021
    10
    Hmmmm... some knee-jerk automatic negative ratings from racists and white supremacy apologists who likely haven't seen the special. Too bad but not surprising.

    Ta-Nehisi Coates is a gift. It's a wonderful tv adaptation.
  4. Dadsaplaya2
    Nov 30, 2020
    10
    As an Howard Alumni, PG County resident and reader of Coates, I can say the piece is exceptionally powerful. His communication that the struggle is of great (maybe the most) value is powerful. His descriptions of the illusion of freedom, being shattered in a moment is very familiar to any black person. I gave this book to my son as he went away to college. This is the type ofAs an Howard Alumni, PG County resident and reader of Coates, I can say the piece is exceptionally powerful. His communication that the struggle is of great (maybe the most) value is powerful. His descriptions of the illusion of freedom, being shattered in a moment is very familiar to any black person. I gave this book to my son as he went away to college. This is the type of programming that gets my $.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

14
#14 Best TV Season of 2020
53
#53 Most Shared TV Season of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Salon
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    Jan 13, 2021
    100
    Coates' writing packs clarity into its lyricism, and at just shy of an hour and 20 minutes Forbes' film honors the book's relative economy while enriching every frame with poignance, augmented by Bradford Young's arresting cinematography. ... The result is magnificently solemn and essentially American.
    Read full review
  2. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: David Robb
    Nov 23, 2020
    63
    Between the World and Me doesn’t necessarily offer the most incisive social commentary, but as a document of our contemporary political moment, its force is undeniable.
    Read full review
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    Nov 20, 2020
    100
    All of it combines to bring Coates’s words up off the page with startlingly precise intent. Old news footage transitions to recent outrages; dreams are shattered and reassembled to reflect unflinching truths. There’s as much to look at as there is to hear; the words and images meld almost seamlessly.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »