Chaos
CBS | Release Date: April 1, 2011
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
11
Negative:
3

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesPaige WiserMar 30, 2011
Season 1 Review: It's "The A-Team" meets ... really good writing. Read full review
75
NewsdayDiane WertsMar 31, 2011
Season 1 Review: Rule-breaking law enforcers! Wherever have we seen this before? But it sure works Friday, seasoned with devil-may-care brio from a cool cast. Read full review
70
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanMar 31, 2011
Season 1 Review: I found little to object to in the pilot for Chaos, a mostly male action-adventure hour that is energetic and mildly amusing from time to time. Read full review
67
Uncle BarkyEd BarkMar 30, 2011
Season 1 Review: Chaos can be amusing in spots, although it's hard to envision it as a long-distance runner. It might be housing a breakout star, though [in James Murray]. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydApr 1, 2011
Season 1 Review: As is the case with pilots, the seams tend to show--the bountiful expository dialogue makes no effort to veil its purpose, and the production is a tad too insistent that we find these scamps charming. But they are fairly charming at that, and though the spy stuff is all unconvincing hokum, the company is easy to bear. Read full review
60
HitfixAlan SepinwallMar 30, 2011
Season 1 Review: There's a promising show here, and with time maybe Chaos can figure itself out. Read full review
50
Zap2it (Inside the Box)Rick PorterApr 1, 2011
Season 1 Review: It's a not always comfortable mix of action, drama and comedy, and if it's far from the worst new series to hit the airwaves this season, it's also not at the top of the list. It's a little too middle of the road for its own good. Read full review
50
USA TodayRobert BiancoApr 1, 2011
Season 1 Review: Like so many networks shows this season, it asks us to settle for "not bad" when what we want is "good." Read full review
50
The New York TimesGinia BellafanteMar 30, 2011
Season 1 Review: The show's jarring shift in tone suggests a touch of the film "Syriana," as well, all of which leaves us with a hard-to-digest influence soup. It's as if a novelist were telling you that she wrote while under the spell of both Salinger and Nancy Drew. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyKen TuckerMar 28, 2011
Season 1 Review: Filled with familiar faces, from Eric Close to Tim Blake Nelson to Kurtwood Smith, the show aims for breezy fun, but to sell the premise of eccentric spooks tracking terrorists, the humor has to be better than the jabbering wisecracks and frenetic sight gags here. Read full review
40
Miami HeraldGlenn GarvinApr 7, 2011
Season 1 Review: More often, though, the laughs range from tepid to nonexistent. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushApr 1, 2011
Season 1 Review: This one pushes the zany aspects too hard, trivializing the missions while neglecting such elements as grit, wit and heart. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyApr 1, 2011
Season 1 Review: Maybe it will work. Maybe it will sort itself out in time for viewers to figure out what they like. For now, it feels chaotic.
40
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayMar 31, 2011
Season 1 Review: I didn't hate the pilot, though it veers from silly to serious so quickly a girl could get whiplash, but I didn't for a minute buy it as a serious contender for next fall on CBS, either. Read full review
40
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan StormMar 31, 2011
Season 1 Review: CBS's new spy spoof, CHAOS, which premieres Friday at 8 p.m., starts out in the hole by knocking the amiable and amusing "The Defenders" off the schedule, and it never crawls out all the way. At least, it's something different, unless you count a show that was on 47 years ago, or a lot of the ones on USA. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanMar 25, 2011
Season 1 Review: If you're at all discerning, it's like getting peanut butter on your steak. You'd rather have that separate. And on different nights. Read full review
25
People WeeklyTom GliattoMar 29, 2011
Season 1 Review: FX's spy parody Archer is funnier, and AMC's short-lived Rubicon was a more sharply realized fantasy of work life in a shadow bureaucracy. This is a botched mission. [4 Apr 2011, p.50]
20
PopMattersLesley SmithApr 1, 2011
Season 1 Review: The show's acting offers no respite. Scenes unfold very slowly, as characters talk quickly but pause at the end of each speech, often holding a self-satisfied smirk as if listening to an inaudible laugh track. Read full review
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