Deception
NBC | Release Date: January 7, 2013
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
15
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Sioux City JournalBruce MillerMay 29, 2013
Season 1 Review: On first blush, Deception is smart, stylish and involving. In time, it could drift. But, for now, enjoy the kind of storytelling that gives its core cast something interesting--and watchable--to do. Read full review
70
Kansas City StarSara SmithFeb 1, 2013
Season 1 Review: Deception borrows a lot from that show and others, ending up more fun than challenging. Read full review
70
PopMattersLiz MedendorpJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: For now, the Bowers and Joanna provide enough mystery to maintain our interest, but we're left wondering whether the show's compelling start is actually taking us somewhere, or if instead this, too, is only a deception. Read full review
70
SalonWilla PaskinJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: If you are looking for some upscale junk-food--beautifully packaged, nicely performed, delectably plotted, but shot through with hot air and likely to make you queasy by the time you reach the end of the bag--look no further than NBC's soap-mystery Deception, which starts tonight, and is, at least for now, scrumptious. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalSohrab AhmariJan 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: Deception scores a point or two higher than the estimable "Revenge" in some regards. The atmosphere is darker, the story less outlandish, if only slightly, and Ms. Good's heroine boasts an attractively firm moral center. Read full review
67
NewsdayVerne GayJan 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: Been here/seen this--a lot--but familiarity could work in favor of Deception. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: Deception isn't like super-soapy "Scandal" or over-the-top "Revenge" (which has gone seriously downhill this season) in that both the story telling and the acting seem more realistic. Read full review
63
People WeeklyTom GliattoJan 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: It's a promising setup, but Deception doesn't allow us the dirty pleasure of enjoying the awful Bowers. [14 Jan 2013, p.56]
60
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: Long-arc storylines usually need some immediate or fresh hook. Deception doesn't have that, instead reshuffling familiar pieces into a new puzzle. Read full review
60
VarietyBrian LowryJan 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: Viewed charitably, the series isn't bad as a sort-of "Dallas" knockoff, though it's worth noting TNT's rebooted "Dallas" covers similar territory in a more satisfying manner. Read full review
58
Uncle BarkyEd BarkJan 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: Some of this is diverting or at least laughable enough to play along. Read full review
50
Zap2it (Inside the Box)Rick PorterJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: The cast is good enough and the premise strong enough to carry it. Right now, though, Deception is a show that doesn't know what it is. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Matt Zoller SeitzJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: It lacks momentum and nerve, and it's sitting on a wellspring of meaning that it's too polite to tap. Read full review
50
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: Vivian's secrets are predictable. Judging from the first two episodes, Joanna is not much of a sleuth. Scene set-ups go nowhere. Minor characters are brought in, disposed of, and the show bumps along to another complication. Read full review
50
USA TodayRobert BiancoJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: While the show makes almost no sense, it is pretty to look at. And it does have a few good actors in its mix, even if they're not particularly well served by the scripts. Read full review
50
Washington PostEmily YahrJan 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: Deception falls prey to the exhaustive method of too-much-storytelling, adding layer upon layer of mini-mysteries and twists until the weary viewer needs a detailed map to keep track--or turns off the show entirely. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDaniel GoldbergJan 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: The writers, for their part, certainly inspire confidence when it comes to the sturdiness of their vehicle, and that's no small feat. It's the intervals between the intrigue, however, that feel regrettably squandered, and the characters' rare moments alone reveal little more than the actors' lack of direction. Read full review
40
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: Even the actors seem grudging as they play their predictable parts. They never succeed in creating a sense of ensemble, enabling us to feel how these characters have known one another for decades. Read full review
40
Denver PostJoanne OstrowJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: Judging by the first two hours, Deception is not as seductive as "Revenge" and contains even more clunky acting and just as much melodramatic music. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: Deception, in trying for something more "real" and not quite getting there, feels fake. There is little chemistry between the people who are supposed to have it. Read full review
40
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: As long as the network realizes it's deceiving no one if it pretends Deception is anything but what it is: far-fetched, formulaic and maybe a little late to the party. Read full review
40
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: If your taste runs to old formulas slickly employed, Deception will hold your interest. If you prefer innovation, it probably won't. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: The pacing is sluggish, the twists telegraphed and rarely shocking, turning this whodunit into a "who cares?" Deception gets NBC's midseason off to a dreary start. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesLori RacklJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: So far Deception feels like one long TV crime drama where everyone takes turns standing under a cloud of suspicion. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: The writing (Heldens and Peter Elkoff) is atrocious, the direction (Peter Horton and Jonas Pate) slow and flabby, and the performances run the gamut from sad to just adequate, but even proven actors like Garber couldn't make us care about any of this. Read full review
20
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanJan 7, 2013
Season 1 Review: Deception just seems sloppily constructed and poorly written, wasting some good actors (Victor Garber, Tate Donovan and Meagan Good) in the process and never giving you a reason to care. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 87 Hacks: Season 5
4 87 Industry: Season 4
5 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
6 85 The Beatles Anthology
7 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
8 85 Bait: Season 1
9 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
10 83 Lord of the Flies
11 83 Riot Women: Season 1
12 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
13 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
14 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
15 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
16 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
17 80 The Comeback: Season 3
18 80 The American Revolution
19 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
20 80 Dark Winds: Season 4
SEE ALL