Damnation (2017)

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Season 1
  • Network: USA
  • Series Premiere Date: Nov 7, 2017
Metascore
57

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15
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Critic Reviews

  1. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Steve Greene
    Nov 7, 2017
    58
    Damnation spends so much of its early going caught in a spiral of misdirection that once the emphasis on bloodshed, doom, and duplicity wanes, a series with sharper insights might emerge. But in its current form, it’s a punishing watch, one with not much more to offer than an animalistic view of human nature.
  2. Yahoo TV
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Nov 7, 2017
    50
    A lot of Damnation feels an awful lot like homework or worse: homework you’re forced to do on the sly while sitting in church listening to a sermon.
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Daniel Fienberg
    Nov 7, 2017
    50
    Damnation is indisputably a good-looking show, and I think it has some things on its mind, though I wish the script had allowed the show to go more aggressively into the Man vs. Bank gear executive producer David Mackenzie brought to Hell or High Water. It's hampered by being a series that keeps its attentions most frequently honed on the aspect that engages me the least.
  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Mike Hale
    Nov 6, 2017
    50
    It’s hard to figure out what this odd, bordering on bizarre historical something or other is trying to do, but it’s firmly focused on the sick soul of America.
  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Sonia Saraiya
    Nov 3, 2017
    50
    To Damnation’s credit, Seth and Creeley are compelling characters--worthy opponents with hangups that make their two sides of the story individually sympathetic. But too often, the details around them become a hash.
  7. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Kevin P. Sullivan
    Nov 3, 2017
    42
    Though it works hard to check the boxes of an "important show," the series leaves two fields unticked: interesting and new. [10 Nov 2017, p.45]
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  8. Collider
    Reviewed by: Allison Keene
    Nov 7, 2017
    40
    Damnation is not all bad, but it never shakes the feeling of being merely a shadow of other, more compelling series that deal with similar struggles of class warfare, brotherhood, frontier spirit, and the like.

Awards & Rankings

88
#88 Most Discussed TV Season of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 33 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 33
  3. Negative: 5 out of 33
  1. grndzro
    Nov 22, 2017
    10
    The first episode has me hooked. It's a great contrast to all the crap shows out there pushing crap designed to brainwash us. I love oldThe first episode has me hooked. It's a great contrast to all the crap shows out there pushing crap designed to brainwash us. I love old things and simply watching makes me appreciate all the antiques I have built up over the years.… Full Review »
  2. Aeq777
    Dec 29, 2018
    4
    Damnation has so many failings it's hard to describe them all here. The acting by Marshall-Green, Killian Scott, and others is certainlyDamnation has so many failings it's hard to describe them all here. The acting by Marshall-Green, Killian Scott, and others is certainly passable, and the dialogue is witty and sharp. The actual plot and events of the show on the other hand, are so poorly written and unbelievable, it's actually sad to watch Damnation. Sad because you know there are some really talented people out there who wrote excellent dialogue for the show, only to have it eclipsed by a story and plot that is constantly hindered by events that simply do not make sense.

    An example would be the "saving" of the Riley farm. The preacher's wife has an "idea", which is the cliche TV show last minute genius idea that will alter the entire outcome. What this genius idea turns out to be is to hold guns and knives to people's faces during the auction so they cannot bid, and the original farm owner can win by bidding a penny. The police are there. The Bank auctioning the farm is there. After this armed robbery occurs, everyone seems to throw up their hands and exclaim "What can be done, the lady won for a penny. Never mind everyone being held at gun point". The auctioneer seemingly verifying the results. It's as if a running back pulled out a pistol during a football game, shooting the defenders in the face as he waltzes up the field, scores a touchdown, and the referrers exclaim "What can be done, he did get the ball into the end zone after all.... Never mind the murder on the way. Touchdown!". And the show just goes on, like the characters forgot what they just witnessed.

    Or there's the scene where the preacher nails up Sam Riley's body to the bank. Before doing this, he holds a sermon with Sam Riley's body, and everyone clearly sees Sam's body in the preachers possession the evening before that same body is nailed to the bank. The next day, that same congregation suspects the "cowboy strikebreaker" of nailing up the body, even though they're all fully aware the last person in possession of Sam's body was the preacher? Does everyone in the congregation have a mental handicap?

    The inconsistencies are numerous, and they simply reinforce the fact that script writers think simply because they can write a script, it should be so. Believable human interaction is one of the cornerstones of a solid script, without it, your story is just contrived garbage, which is what Damnation is turning out to be.

    The hero is the preacher, because the script tells us so. The Preacher is somehow able to break the law, in front of the law men, numerous times, and get away with it. The show continues to promote the preachers ideals, even as those around him he is proselytizing are dying so that his agenda is progressed. As these innocents die due to the preacher's agitation, that somehow only serves to show us his cause is just, as it spreads bloodshed where it did not previously exist, all so he can fulfill his notion of class justice. At the cost of other people's lives of course.

    This show is pretty bad if you're doing anything other than running it as background noise on a second screen while you play Overwatch.    … Full Review »
  3. Petrocelli1960
    Dec 23, 2018
    1
    This would be must watch TV, if you had only one channel and it played only this show. For Pete's sake, we have a minister who uses the wordThis would be must watch TV, if you had only one channel and it played only this show. For Pete's sake, we have a minister who uses the word f*** in a sermon. The show consists of some poor farmers who are being mistreated by a banker. The banker kills farmers, and the farmers kill the banker's agents. Lots of blood. Stupid plot twists.… Full Review »
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