Feed the Beast (2016)

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Season 1
  • Network: AMC
  • Series Premiere Date: Jun 5, 2016
Metascore
46

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 33
  3. Negative: 9 out of 33
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Critic Reviews

  1. The Atlantic
    Reviewed by: Sophie Gilbert
    Jun 6, 2016
    30
    Answers are sacrificed in Feed the Beast’s quest to be 18 different things at once: a Bourdain-esque tale of bad-boy chefs made good, a gritty crime drama, a superhero show, a touching tale of familial reception.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    Jun 6, 2016
    30
    [Feed the Beast] is such a mess that you have to wonder what on Earth is going on at AMC (besides the whole if-it’s-a-white-guy-who-bleeds-it-leads thing).
  3. Time
    Reviewed by: Daniel D'Addario
    Jun 3, 2016
    30
    The series is elaborately plated, with elaborate backstory and perhaps one too many past traumas for its characters. But its main ingredient--the story of two men putting their passions for food and drink to use on a restaurant--is unsalvageably stale.
  5. Variety
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    Jun 2, 2016
    30
    Its attempts to explore the motivations of a trouble-prone, hot-shot chef while mixing in observations about the persistence of organized crime in New York, and meditations on the grief process, all lack originality and bite.
  6. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Jun 2, 2016
    30
    Feed the Beast vacillates from being something we’ve seen often to something that’s just not believable, and the dialogue sounds produced by a computer designed to write melodrama. Schwimmer (and co-star Lorenza Izzo) sometimes pierce through the predictability, but everyone else gets lost in a messy show that just can’t compete in today’s TV market.
  7. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Robert Bianco
    Jun 3, 2016
    25
    It's a tossup as to what exactly about Beast you may find least bearable. For some, it will be the mix of crime-show melodrama, cheap cynicism and soap-opera theatrics. For others, it will be the sad fact that no one involved seems to have ever heard an actual human being speak.
  8. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    May 31, 2016
    25
    It is a perfect example of why bad writing kills TV.
  9. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    Jun 2, 2016
    20
    I was bored senseless within the aforementioned 15 minutes. I got through the first episode but could not tolerate the effort it was taking to slog through the second.
  10. Yahoo TV
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Jun 2, 2016
    20
    It turns out that having your teeth pulled is a better metaphor for what it’s like to watch Feed the Beast than anything to do with fine food.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 42
  3. Negative: 11 out of 42
  1. JoeSmithII
    Jun 17, 2016
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. [spoiler alert]

    F the B is TV at it's worst. There's nothing good about it. The dialog is flat and trite and the characters and acting are awful. Tommy has a single facial expression ALL the time which makes him look like a bloodhound who's bummed out because he's lost his sense of smell. Dion runs around like a drugged out manic meth-head who's on speed all the time, and, oh wait, DION IS a drugged out manic meth-head who runs around on speed all the time. We have a supposedly Hispanic restaurant "manager" who not only is completely faking everything she claims to know about running a restaurant, but is also obviously even faking being Hispanic. The mute kid is ANNOYING as hell (JUST SAY SOMETHING FOOL!), and the granddad was simply lifted whole out of "Gotham" and the "Sopranos" (as was "ruthless cop" now that I think about it). And don't even get me started on the idiot "Toothfairy" character. That guy is a horrible actor who reminds me of Otho in "Beetlejuice" and the tooth-pulling bit is about as trite as it gets.

    Every one of these "characters" are one dimensional stereotypes. And worse, not only do you not like ANY of these characters, you actually despise all of them, even the annoying mute kid (JUST SAY SOMETHING FOOL!). Dion lies to everyone about everything all the time, totally F-ing over EVERYONE, including those he's supposed to care about, not to mention that DION thinks it's a great idea to rob Tommy's former employer of $100,000 in high-end wines and maim the minimum-wage warehouse night-guard in the process, and the audience is supposed to think all of that is really, really cool and DION is a really, really cool dude for doing sick stuff like that. And worst of all, it's clear that DION is never going undergo introspection and redeem himself as a better person, because DION's manic drugged-out narcissism and active destruction of those around him are what the entire show revolves around. If DION were to change, then F the B would pretty much be just another cooking show, with every episode being somewhat reminiscent of Antony Bordain revisiting his old employer, La Halle.

    There is zero original in the plot elements, which are nothing but a mish-mash of ripped off bits from every mafia movie ever made. Plus, these story bits are cobbled together in a completely opaque fashion: totally predictable with no surprises. You can pretty much sit there and go: oh, now it's time for a mafia scene, or now it's time for a mute kid (JUST SAY SOMETHING FOOL!) scene, or now it's time for the evil, obsessed cop to show up and threaten Dion, or now it's time for the Toothfairy to show up and threaten Dion, or now it's time for the old man to hate Dion's foo-foo food, or now it's time for Dion to go wild spending money without listening to anyone, or now it's time for the old man to teach mute Timmy (or whatever his name is) to stand up and fight for himself in the schoolyard, or now it's time to have another "Dion awesomely cool cooking scene" (which by the way you can always tell is an awesomely cool cooking scene because they always play "awesomely cool cooking scene" music so you get in that "awesomely cool cooking scene" groove.

    Perhaps needless to say, F the B has been removed from my record series list.    … Full Review »
  2. gforze
    Jun 21, 2016
    5
    Schwimmer's acting and character are great, but Sturgess' character/acting is really getting on my nerves.
    Michael Gladis' acting is ok, but    Schwimmer's acting and character are great, but Sturgess' character/acting is really getting on my nerves.
    Michael Gladis' acting is ok, but Im waiting for him to burst out singing 'Hello my baby' .. Sorry cant get past his character in Mad Men ;)

    Storyline seems ok, but somehow I'm not 'feeling' it.    … Full Review »
  3. Qldgamer
    Jun 18, 2016
    1
    There is not one character that I like or even care what is going to happen to them. Too many conflicts happening and it seems to be flayingThere is not one character that I like or even care what is going to happen to them. Too many conflicts happening and it seems to be flaying about looking for a plot.… Full Review »
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