Damien
A&E | A&EHD-E | Release Date: March 7, 2016
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
8
Negative:
10
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
Los Angeles Daily NewsRob LowmanMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: Not bad if it’s your thing. Read full review
50
The New York TimesMike HaleMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: Damien the TV series is a fairly generic supernatural conspiracy thriller with elements of the police procedural, a well-populated genre. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergMar 4, 2016
Season 1 Review: A&E's Damien joins the franchise, offering spooky and violent moments through its first five episodes, but struggling to find the narrative momentum necessary to work as an ongoing series. Read full review
50
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenMar 4, 2016
Season 1 Review: The pilot is relatively inert for a thriller as it pretty much tacks in all the expected directions. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandMar 3, 2016
Season 1 Review: The early episodes are the most overly ripe. Eventually, we get used to the bad dialogue and unintentionally funny direction and performances and surrender to the fundamental mystery of who Damien is, not to mention the question of the real identities and purpose of various people around him. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian LowryMar 2, 2016
Season 1 Review: At its core, though, the show feels hollow, in part because of the waffling approach to its central character.... Taken strictly on its own terms, Damien is mildly fun through these episodes, its flaws notwithstanding. Read full review
40
Yahoo TVKen TuckerMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: Damien has moments of nicely spooky atmospherics, but it’s neither scary nor fun, and when you’re dealing with this topic and this character, you have to move in one of those two directions, or you’ll just lose the battle to the devil of tedium. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushMar 3, 2016
Season 1 Review: Damien feels like dramatic purgatory. [7-10 Mar 2016, p.19]
37
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: Unfortunately, the premiere is more depressing than scary, often feeling as if we're being sucked slowly into quicksand. Read full review
33
The Lincoln Journal StarJeff KorbelikMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: Damien is nothing more than cliche, right down to the use of Rottweilers as hellhounds. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyJeff JensenMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: The pilot is rushed, the direction is flat, the imagination is lacking. [11 Mar 2016, p.76]
30
We Got This CoveredIsaac Feldberg Mar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: That a series centered around the Antichrist is this scare-free, weirdly witless, and dramatically inert comes as a deeply unpleasant surprise. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: Just as drear and dreadful as that history would suggest.... The constant pre-apocalyptic jitters get in the way of James creating much of a character. Read full review
25
TVLineMichael SlezakApr 6, 2016
Season 1 Review: Hershey’s commitment to the role is impressive, but it’s not enough to follow Damien into the schlockiest circle of TV hell. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubBrandon NowalkMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: With a visual palette of dim neutrals and its only modes of darkness being dour realism and harmless fantasy, Damien suggests nothing so much as a hotel bar. Its death sequences are hit or miss when it comes to horror, but at least they display some imagination. Read full review
25
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: The lack of suspense and originality is depressing. Read full review
20
ColliderChris CabinMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: The pilot episode features some handsome compositions, but neither the imagery nor the predictable plodding of the story suggest any insights into concepts of fate, religion, free will, and human nature. Read full review
20
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMar 7, 2016
Season 1 Review: It is a show in search of the right tone, littered with laughable dialogue and a notable uncertainty of what it’s supposed to be. The horror doesn’t work, the characters aren’t defined and the plot is ludicrous. You’d be better off watching one of the “Omen” sequels. Read full review
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