Forever (2014)
ABC | Release Date: September 22, 2014
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
16
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
USA TodayRobert BiancoSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: They need to put a bit more thought into the mysteries themselves, which lean toward the clunky. But the appeal of the stars and the premise should buy them some time. Read full review
75
NewsdayVerne GaySep 19, 2014
Season 1 Review: Forever isn't betting the future on plot mechanics, however, but on chemistry and that obscure object of desire called "sex appeal." These leads have it--in spades. Read full review
70
PopMattersMichael LandweberSep 24, 2014
Season 1 Review: Everything in the first episode suggests that Forever has a better shot at successfully combining procedural conventions and a high-concept than, say, Intelligence or Almost Human. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: The mysteries he and Martinez tackle are rather pro forma, but that's not what tends to keep shows like Castle and Bones on the air season after season. It's more about enjoying being in the company of these charismatic characters, and there's strong chemistry between the debonair Gruffudd and the earthy De La Garza. Read full review
67
Newark Star-LedgerVicki HymanSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: Gruffudd's characterization is a bit uneven; sometimes he's gruff and aloof and still pining over the loss of his World War II-era love, yet he's able to turn on the charm when he wants to. Read full review
67
Washington PostHank StueverSep 19, 2014
Season 1 Review: Forever isn’t the freshest new show this fall, but its classiness is appreciated. Read full review
60
Zap2it (Inside the Box)Sarah HugginsSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: Gruffudd carries the series well and brings a trustworthy and genuine presence to the role of Henry Morgan. However, after viewing two episodes, it is unclear where the series is going in the long haul. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Matt Zoller SeitzSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: The pilot episode of Forever struck me as the first half of a pretty-good-but-not-great movie; whether it can sustain itself as a TV series remains to be seen. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: Hirsch is, as usual, wonderful and more than capable of taking Abraham's story line wider and deeper than well-meaning banter and bromides assigned him, but in early episodes the story seems determined to showcase its more predictable aspects. Read full review
60
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: Forever is not a bad show--the pilot is pretty well made for what it is--but aspects of the premise feel awfully familiar. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubKate KulzickSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: Despite its strong cast and potentially interesting premise, Forever fails to distinguish itself among a network landscape littered with quasi-serialized crime procedurals. Read full review
58
Uncle BarkyEd BarkSep 19, 2014
Season 1 Review: Too much of Forever is either overwrought or half-baked. But Gruffudd is mighty handsome as Henry. Jaunty, too. So the series is well-equipped from that standpoint. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: Forever is an easy hour because Gruffudd (Horatio Hornblower) is a fine, quite likeable actor, and the mystery-of-the-week procedural continues to be candy for views. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: The show does have a spark when Henry and a detective named Jo Martinez (Alana De La Garza) interact.... The actual crimes in the first two episodes, though, feel like the same old same old, immortal medical examiner or not. Read full review
50
HitfixAlan SepinwallSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: It's all fairly disposable, though at least the show lets Gruffudd use his native accent, and he has an interesting relationship with Judd Hirsch's Abe, the one man who knows his secret. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandSep 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: Monday’s premiere has to work hard to get you to suspend disbelief, but the actual crimes, in both the Monday and Tuesday episodes, are well plotted. Gruffudd’s Morgan isn’t quite as much of a social misfit as Jonny Lee Miller’s Holmes on CBS, but he’s a good actor and pairs well with both de la Garza and Judd Hirsch. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoSep 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: Forever makes for a breezy hour of entertainment that is nonetheless remarkably forgettable. Read full review
42
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertSep 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: You have to be a huge Gruffudd fan to stick with this one. And I’m not. Read full review
40
The WrapMekeisha Madden TobySep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: [There's] a lot of dying and when that's added to the death or deaths of the week--this is a one-note procedural after all--the morbidity starts to mount on a series that's already weighed down by clumsy mythology and storytelling. Read full review
40
The OregonianKristi TurnquistSep 19, 2014
Season 1 Review: Depends on how willing you are to suspend your disbelief that a man who's immortal couldn't find something else to do with his endless time than hanging around a morgue. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian LowrySep 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: There is, inevitably, the promise of chemistry developing between the central duo, but even that only makes the series feel more mundane than its concept. Read full review
40
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanSep 17, 2014
Season 1 Review: The show is so bland and forgettable that it gives me no real reason to return. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesLori RacklSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: ABC’s new crime-solving drama about an immortal medical examiner is nothing more than a shameless “Sherlock” ripoff. Read full review
25
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardSep 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: Forever comes off like a show a couple of drunks scribbled out on a cocktail napkin. 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