Bunheads

:

Season 1
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
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Critic Reviews

  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    Jun 11, 2012
    100
    It just feels like nothing else you've seen on TV.
  2. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Diane Werts
    Jun 11, 2012
    83
    Bunheads seems to know exactly what it's doing.
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    Dec 31, 2012
    80
    It's worth the effort to figure out what this offbeat cast of characters is up to.
  5. Salon
    Reviewed by: Willa Paskin
    Jun 11, 2012
    80
    Bunheads pilot is largely a a showcase for Sherman-Palladino's best stylistic and thematic trademarks.
  6. Slate
    Reviewed by: Troy Patterson
    Jun 11, 2012
    80
    It offers memorable looks at rehearsals, auditions, ballet-company competitions, and dreams of names in lights.
  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Jun 11, 2012
    80
    Sherman-Palladino's snappy banter and slightly melancholy characters only enrich the texture of a series perfectly pitched between comedy and drama.
  8. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Gail Pennington
    Aug 27, 2012
    75
    A show that is beautiful and sweet, funny and touching.
  9. Hitfix
    Reviewed by: Alan Sepinwall
    Jun 11, 2012
    75
    If it's not exactly "Gilmore Girls 2: Acoustic Boogaloo," it's close enough to be reassuring--and, on occasion, distracting.
  10. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Jun 7, 2012
    75
    Gilmore creator Amy Sherman-Palladino gives her actors a zip drive's worth of dialogue....Foster's got the mouth--and charm--to pull it off. [18 Jun 2012, p.43]
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  11. PopMatters
    Reviewed by: Chris Conaton
    Jan 7, 2013
    70
    At last, Sasha is less a collection of TV teenager tropes and more convincingly a Sherman-Palladino creation.
  12. Denver Post
    Reviewed by: Joanne Ostrow
    Jun 11, 2012
    70
    Bunheads hasn't quite found its footing, but shows great promise thanks more to the cast and crew than to the initial hour.
  13. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    Jun 11, 2012
    70
    It's a sweet summer treat.
  14. Philadelphia Daily News
    Reviewed by: Ellen Gray
    Jun 11, 2012
    70
    I don't know if the show I thought I was watching is actually the show she intends to make. But I'm willing to stick around to find out.
  15. The Huffington Post
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    Jun 11, 2012
    70
    The relationships that are sketched out in the first hour are promising.
  16. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Jon Caramanica
    Jun 11, 2012
    70
    As on "Gilmore Girls" there's a sense that a place, if peaceful enough, can redeem the people within.
  17. Time
    Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    Jun 11, 2012
    70
    The premise is different from Gilmore but the theme of starting over, the snappy dialogue and the offbeat charm are very similar.
  18. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    Jun 11, 2012
    70
    While it's not perfect, Bunheads is a happy find, a ray of authenticity on a summer TV schedule filled with so much artificial light.
  19. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    Jun 7, 2012
    70
    Bunheads feels like it's taking shape but hasn't coalesced in its first episode. But what it does get right is the introduction of characters from whom a lot of potential stories can flow.
  20. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    Jun 11, 2012
    67
    Bunheads has the potential to have that cross-generational appeal. To thrive, the series must find its own tune to dance to.
  21. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Jun 11, 2012
    50
    Bunheads will take some work and it could just as easily become either annoying or likable.

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Best TV Season of 2012
47
#47 Most Discussed TV Season of 2012
96
#96 Most Shared TV Season of 2012

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 44 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 44
  3. Negative: 4 out of 44
  1. retiredat56
    Jun 12, 2012
    3
    The premise of the story is absurd. A highly talented, former APT ballet dancer goes off to Vegas because the pay is better as a chorus lineThe premise of the story is absurd. A highly talented, former APT ballet dancer goes off to Vegas because the pay is better as a chorus line showgirl. Right. Then, after a few years wasting her talent, sick of the partying life, she goes to Boring Town USA with a guy who visits her once a month or so in Vegas, whom she really doesn't like but marries anyway. Of course. The main characters are depicted as both witless and very bright at the same time. The townspeople are depicted as witless boobs still living some time in the 50's. It as though TV, radio and the internet haven't penetrated the city walls yet. The acting is mixed, some of it very good but it is the writing and story line that need the most work.… Full Review »
  2. lancekoz
    Jun 22, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. I wanted to like this. It's snappy enough and pretty and has actors with charm but not overly beautiful, which I am usually a fan of, but it is just painfully over the top with some crazy characters who don't shut up and others who don't ever express themselves. Is it just me, or are characters speaking too fast these days, spinning out all sorts of eclectic references to make cleverer-than-thou jokes? And the only male character (of the first two episodes) dies.... leaving us with a whole world of sniping, cranky women and girls. Any show that has ballet dancing to Tom Waits and jokes about making **** napkins with the Dalai Lama's face on them is maybe trying just a bit too hard.… Full Review »
  3. Movie2talkabout
    Aug 7, 2012
    8
    A completely fresh face to grace TV. The pilot displayed just enough to get you hooked on the graceful world of ballet, small towns and mostA completely fresh face to grace TV. The pilot displayed just enough to get you hooked on the graceful world of ballet, small towns and most of all, art. If you aren't watching this, you aren't keeping up with new TV.… Full Review »
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