CBS | Release Date: October 27, 1996
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
84
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
0
Negative:
2
100
Denver PostJoanne OstrowJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: Prepare for top-notch dramatic writing, exceptional camera work and complex characters. [27 Oct 1996]
100
Houston ChronicleAnn HodgesJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: The cast here is a standout, down to the smallest parts. ... And this production is super-slick, from camera work to moody musical score. The script is sharply cutting edge. The step is relentlessly slow, with violence as the pace-breaker. [27 Oct 1996]
100
Newark Star-LedgerAlan SepinwallJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: You have to work to watch this show. Characters and plotlines whiz by in a blur, and if you blink, you may miss an entire subplot. But the payoff is more than worth the effort: With its deep characterizations, dark humor, unpredictable plots and brilliant musical score, "EZ Streets" is fascinating television, unlike almost anything else now on the air. [27 Oct 1996]
100
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan StormJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: [A] brilliant, layered cops-and-robbers series -- the best since NYPD Blue. [27 Oct 1996]
100
San Diego Union-TribuneJohn FreemanJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: Stylishly produced, with haunting music, darkly diffused lighting and some surprising violence and raw street language, "EZ Streets" has loads of bite and texture. Based on Sunday night's two-hour preview episode, it has the potential to be one of the new season's best dramas. [27 Oct 1996]
100
Chicago Sun-TimesLon GrahnkeJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: The "EZ" dialogue is terse, suggestive, pointed and often ambiguous. The complicated "Streets" story deals with issues of truth, honor, justice, vengeance and loyalty. Its stark moral conflicts, set in a shady criminal underworld, deserve positive comparisons to "On the Waterfront," "Serpico," "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and the first year of "Wiseguy." [25 Oct 1996]
100
Chicago TribuneSteve JohnsonJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: Haunting and riveting. [25 Oct 1996]
100
Cleveland Plain DealerTom FeranJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: A rich, risky and satisfying adult drama that could be the next "Wiseguy" - and there isn't much higher praise. [26 Oct 1996]
100
New York Daily NewsEric MinkJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: A brooding, brilliantly written and crafted cop show. [25 Oct 1996]
91
Seattle Post-IntelligencerJohn LevesqueJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: "EZ Streets" has great ensemble acting from a formidable cast. It has an attractive balance of conflict and humor. And it's that uncommon cop show that makes the bad guys more than cutout caricatures. [25 Oct 1996]
90
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: A fascinating and challenging new drama series. [27 Oct 1996]
90
Dallas Morning NewsEd BarkJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: It is ambitious, evocative television with next to no hit potential. [24 Oct 1996]
90
NewsdayMarvin KitmanJul 12, 2013
Season 1 Review: The best new drama of the season, the only one of the 44 new shows that could join "Law & Order," "Homicide," "NYPD Blue," "Murder One" in the pantheon of quality shows. [11 Oct 1996]
80
Orlando SentinelHal BoedekerJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: Dense, dark and disturbing, the new crime drama requires that attention - total attention - be paid to a bunch of unsavory characters. Many viewers will deem it an offer they can refuse. Yet patience pays major rewards, for EZ Streets holds surprising fascination. [27 Oct 1996]
80
Baltimore SunDavid ZurawikJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: There is some room for debate as to whether it is the best or only the second best new drama of the season, but there is no doubt it is the most daring. [26 Oct 1996]
80
The New York TimesCaryn JamesJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: "EZ Streets" may sound depressing, but its fiercely dark vision keeps viewers off-kilter and engaged and makes this one of the season's most exciting new series. [26 Oct 1996]
75
Detroit Free PressMike DuffyJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: An ambitiously moody exploration of moral ambiguity. [27 Oct 1996]
75
USA TodayMatt RoushJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: It's sometimes lyrical, other times cruel, provocatively adult and often profane. The downside: a suffocating ambiguity that may smother its hopes for commercial success. [25 Oct 1996]
70
Boston GlobeRenee GrahamJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: While the performances are first-rate, "EZ Streets" is a tad too in love with itself, and at least for the first two hours, it never shakes free of its pretentiousness. [26 Oct 1996]
20
Washington PostTom ShalesJul 18, 2013
Season 1 Review: It's achy, moody, glum, stylized and almost criminally pretentious. ... All the performances seem mannered. The show is plagued with arch, actorly acting, the kind that rings false and calls attention to its own falseness. ... Already some critics have hailed the show as a breakthrough. True enough -- it's a breakthrough from tedium into torpor. [27 Oct 1996]