Chance
HULU | Release Date: October 19, 2016
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Lincoln Journal StarJeff KorbelikOct 17, 2016
Season 1 Review: Chance is paced extremely well, building with tension from the outset. It’ll hook you, then surprise you. Read full review
100
NewsdayVerne GayOct 17, 2016
Season 1 Review: One of the best new fall series and--double bonus points--it stars the great Hugh Laurie and Ethan Suplee, who ruthlessly hijacks his scenes. Read full review
83
IndieWireBen TraversOct 18, 2016
Season 1 Review: Chance sometimes feels like it’s a mystery without a question, operating best when Eldon is the focus instead of Jaclyn, his indefinable patient. The series is also far from a pulse-pounding ride, a la “Breaking Bad,” as most of the first five episodes are spent establishing motivations. But Chance is buoyed by a strong supporting turn from Embry and an aptly nuanced take from the hot-like-fire Laurie, meaning audiences open to a little self-reflection should volunteer to be victims for this one. Read full review
80
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertOct 17, 2016
Season 1 Review: Chance is provocative, mysterious, overdone, and, bottom line, entertaining. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonOct 19, 2016
Season 1 Review: A series like Chance seems natural for binge watching, and that makes Hulu's strategy of releasing episodes week by week, just like on television, seem frustrating. Fans of psychological thrillers, though, are likely to find Chance worth the wait. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineAaron RiccioOct 17, 2016
Season 1 Review: Creators Alexandra Cunningham (who lit slow fuses on Desperate Housewives) and Kem Nunn (who played a similar long game on John from Cincinnati) have crafted a tersely cerebral drama in which not a single frame feels unintentionally out of place. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyDarren FranichOct 17, 2016
Season 1 Review: There’s a revelation in episode 3 that adds a new shade to Laurie’s paranoid performance. And Mol brings humanity to what could’ve been Hitchcock pastiche. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandOct 17, 2016
Season 1 Review: Laurie is excellent and quickly establishes Dr. Eldon Chance as a distinctly separate character from Dr. Gregory House. He is also damaged, but in his own somewhat mysterious way. Chaos proves compelling, at least for viewers. Read full review
70
Los Angeles Daily NewsRob LowmanOct 9, 2017
Season 2 Review: The series is a slow burner, but the noir mystery and Laurie keep the flames going. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanOct 19, 2016
Season 1 Review: Chance is erratic and sometimes frustrating. But it battles hard to win back approval. And overall the glitches are outweighed by the finer creative points. Read full review
70
Yahoo TVKen TuckerOct 19, 2016
Season 1 Review: At its best, the TV show has a bit of a Hitchcock feel (the doomed romance of Vertigo) and an even stronger pull toward Brian De Palma’s Hitchcock homage Obsession (1976). At its weakest, Chance is melodramatic. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydOct 18, 2016
Season 1 Review: There is little in the way of humor. What relief there is comes from supporting characters, like Chance's office manager, Lucy (Greta Lee), who let in a little fresh air from the normal world offstage. The performances are enjoyable. Read full review
67
Uncle BarkyEd BarkOct 20, 2016
Season 1 Review: So far it’s involving to a degree but never enthralling to the max. Read full review
67
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardOct 18, 2016
Season 1 Review: There’s much about Chance that makes no sense, but the perfor­mances are terrific. Read full review
67
Colorado Springs GazetteTerry TerronesOct 17, 2016
Season 1 Review: Chance is a psychological thriller that is both intriguing and intelligent. While it can come across as high brow and esoteric at times, the three episodes I watched were barely enough to keep me satiated. Read full review
63
USA TodayRobert BiancoOct 18, 2016
Season 1 Review: The question, despite the show's excellent cast and evocative setting, is whether you have any great desire to wander through this bleak universe once again. Read full review
60
ColliderChris CabinOct 27, 2016
Season 1 Review: Though the series remains entertaining, attractively moody, and sensationally well-acted, there’s a lack of urgency and personal import that can be felt throughout that keeps this inarguably good show from being a great one. Read full review
55
CNNBrian LowryOct 13, 2016
Season 1 Review: Mildly watchable and tense, but well short of riveting. Read full review
50
The New York TimesMike HaleOct 18, 2016
Season 1 Review: Chance keeps threatening to blossom into the mordant comedy it ought to be, but the dawdling pace and a general dreariness of mood keep it tied down. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Jen ChaneyOct 18, 2016
Season 1 Review: It can’t decide whether it wants to be a drama rooted in psychologically legitimate authenticity or a fully heightened paperback mystery in streaming form whose departures from reality can be more easily forgiven. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubDanette ChavezOct 19, 2016
Season 1 Review: The problem is that Nunn’s unable to create a coherent drama or compelling thriller, in or out of his milieu. The first half of the season is a jumble of storytelling techniques, despite featuring a slew of top-notch directors, including Room’s Lenny Abrahamson. Read full review
40
SlateWilla PaskinOct 20, 2016
Season 1 Review: Chance wants to be a kind of seedy California noir, complete with femme fatale but is personality-less instead. Read full review
40
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoOct 19, 2016
Season 1 Review: Chance, despite a great cast and a pilot directed by Oscar nominee Lenny Abrahamson, relies too much on coincidence and gullibility to be effective. And, more damagingly, doesn’t generate the sexual heat or sense of danger that great noir needs to resonate. Read full review
30
VarietyMaureen RyanOct 17, 2016
Season 1 Review: Unfortunately, the burned-out doctor is so naive and so laughably gullible that just about every choice feels pre-determined and every consequence can be seen coming a mile away. Add several scenes of clunky, overwritten dialogue and an underwritten female lead to an almost complete lack of suspense, and the end result is a cliche-ridden drama that is a painful chore to sit through. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 87 Hacks: Season 5
4 87 Industry: Season 4
5 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
6 85 The Beatles Anthology
7 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
8 85 Bait: Season 1
9 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
10 83 Lord of the Flies
11 83 Riot Women: Season 1
12 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
13 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
14 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
15 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
16 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
17 80 The Comeback: Season 3
18 80 The American Revolution
19 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
20 80 Dark Winds: Season 4
SEE ALL