- Network: HULU
- Series Premiere Date: Dec 8, 2023
Critic Reviews
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
There is flair, fun and finesse here, particularly in the performance and staging, but overall, Culprits is a stickup series that doesn’t quite pull off the heist.
-
After a strong start, with the series immediately drawing you in and holding you there, the final couple of episodes fall flat. But there is much to enjoy about Culprits, with Stewart-Jarrett's performance as David a particular highlight. He's the beating heart of this story, as he desperately scrambles to protect his family from the impending hellfire that is 'Devil' - another highlight - and in his more emotional, tender scenes, he shines.
-
The eight episodes are too cruel and brutal to satisfy the “fun heist” genre, and judged on its own merits, the show fails to marry its two halves. BEFORE and NOW feel like separate shows, both incomplete and neither all that satisfying.
-
Is it possible that some viewers will feel invested enough after five episodes to maintain enthusiasm through the less-than-lackluster conclusion? Yes, but by the end I felt like I was watching a child’s haphazard finger-painting much more than the work of a modernist master.
-
Culprits never comes close to sealing the deal. As Reservoir Dogs tributes go, this one is a bit of a howler.