Durham County

:

Season 1
Season #: 3, 2, 1
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
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Critic Reviews

  1. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    80
    Atmospheric and strange (images of power lines abound for no discernible reason), Durham County is not much of a murder mystery--viewers know who the killer(s) are by the end of the first episode--but it is an intriguing crime drama that's more character-driven than it is procedural.
  2. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Alessandra Stanley
    80
    Durham County, in short, is very, very creepy and unsettling, and entirely addictive, a modern murder mystery with a touch of Patricia Highsmith misanthropy.
  3. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Glenn Garvin
    70
    No fictional conceit can possibly match the darkness of the Manson family. But Durham County, a series about a cop's growing realization that his bland suburban neighborhood may house a serial killer, is genuinely creepy.
  5. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    60
    Viewers willing to put in the work tonight could be rewarded with a complex, nicely turned drama. Those less interested can wait a week, when the 10 p.m. options will expand to include Jay Leno telling jokes. No scorecard needed there.
  6. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    50
    When everything and every moment is studiously and heavy-handedly unpleasant, and each humorless, colorless detail seems designed to impress us with its “edge,” the overall effect ironically becomes somewhat monotonous.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. TelephoneIceCrm
    Jan 10, 2014
    5
    For any "Law and Order: SVU" fans, this show is basically Elliot Stabler the TV series. It focuses on an extremely arrogant cop who isFor any "Law and Order: SVU" fans, this show is basically Elliot Stabler the TV series. It focuses on an extremely arrogant cop who is completely self absorbed, learns absolutely nothing from his mistakes and always chooses focusing on dead victims or living killers rather than his family. As if this isn't bad enough, he has a daughter who has the exact same qualities.

    The first season starts off with a pretty graphic murder and actually does a good job focusing on showing how the very things that draw people to suburban areas (the open space, distance from neighbors, "family values," etc.) can actually create a misogynistic culture where murderers of women operate with ease due to secluded areas and a "good ol' boys" culture that seems as repressive as it is scarily easy to manipulate.

    The problem is that the first season presented these issues and didn't adequately digest them. The second season kind of meandered around these points and then picked up a new antagonist. The third season had absolutely, and I mean ABSOLUTELY, nothing to do with anything in the two former seasons story-wise. This wouldn't have been as much of a whopping disappointment if the characters would've been developed more (i.e. if Mike or Sadie Sweeny would've learned anything from their mistakes). However, it should be said that Mike's younger daughter, Maddy, finally telling Mike exactly what she (and many viewers I would imagine) felt about him was pretty epic. In fact, this alone raised my score from a 4 to a 5.    … Full Review »
  2. MaryZ
    Sep 10, 2009
    8
    Creepy is exactly the word I used. I almost had to turn away, it was that unsettling. Well acted; very little exposition. I recommend it highly.
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