- Network: Netflix
- Series Premiere Date: Jul 23, 2025
Critic Reviews
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Where “Critical” loses some ground is in how goosed its story lines are and how much it adopts the styles of generic streaming true-crime documentaries. We hear from patients’ loved ones before we hear from the patients themselves, which drags out the “Wait, did they live or die?” in ways that feel cheap and scuzzy. Talking-head segments are blue-toned and somber and appear to be filmed in abandoned warehouses. The show uses the same footage repeatedly, and its super-up-close B-roll is generic. These choices dim but do not extinguish the show’s power.
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For the most part, though each episode makes a good attempt at showing exactly what the various first responders and trauma teams need to do and exactly how critical the injuries of the patients they’re treating really are.