Gang Related
FOX | Release Date: May 22, 2014
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
15
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Wall Street JournalDorothy RabinowitzMay 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: The writing is sharp, the atmosphere thick with tension from, among other things, car and foot chases. Read full review
75
Uncle BarkyEd BarkMay 20, 2014
Season 1 Review: It would be giving away too much to get into the specifics of an emotional Episode 3 encounter between Javier and son Carlos. But this is where Gang Related really starts to distinguish and establish itself as a series that might grow into something more than a vividly staged run ’n’ gun hour with little else going for it. Read full review
75
People WeeklyTom GliattoMay 16, 2014
Season 1 Review: In the show's best moments, this moral pickle (being a mole vs. being a cop) leaves Ryan scrambling to improvise ways to prevent gang crimes without really catching anyone. [26 May 2014, p.40]
70
Washington PostHank StueverMay 21, 2014
Season 1 Review: It’s a fast-paced shoot-’em-up/blow-’em-up affair (with the usual ridiculous disregard for actual public safety), but beneath the noise and oozing machismo, it’s not half bad as a deeper emotional story about family and trust. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushMay 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: The action scenes are impressive, the cast admirably diverse (with Cliff Curtis especially strong as Ryan's demanding surrogate father), and the tone suitably rugged. All Gang Related needs to up the ante is a hero who's a little more "anti-." Read full review
60
The New York TimesAlessandra StanleyMay 21, 2014
Season 1 Review: It’s an action drama about a cop leading a double life and is itself torn in two directions: aspiring to the latitude and sophistication of cable, but still hamstrung by conventional notions of character development, exposition and taste. Read full review
58
The Detroit NewsTom LongMay 21, 2014
Season 1 Review: With the tension of its premise and the promise of its family-driven drama, Gang Related may eventually work the stiffness out of its joints and become interesting. Or not. It’s that kind of show. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyJeff JensenMay 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: Clunky dialogue, clichéd relationships, and an escapist action-flick aesthetic combine to subvert the ambition for gritty realism. It requires stronger vision and voice, as well as more distance; it can't decide whether to be likable or prickly. Read full review
50
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardMay 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: Nothing feels authentic about this show. Read full review
50
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenMay 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: For what it is--a small-screen version of a big-screen shoot-’em-up--Gang Related is fine, but it won’t be confused with great TV. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeSarah RodmanMay 21, 2014
Season 1 Review: Just as Lopez struggles to balance his loyalties, so does Gang Related struggle to bring fresh energy to the formula. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandMay 21, 2014
Season 1 Review: The pilot episode, airing Thursday, is less than promising, but once you get used to the cliches, the loudly telegraphed plot developments and the unrelentingly phony look of the set, the show becomes watchable in subsequent episodes, thanks to a few of the key performances and some well-directed action scenes. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubEmily VanDerWerffMay 21, 2014
Season 1 Review: Gang Related ultimately confuses being grim with being sophisticated, and it too rarely stops to think about what it’s trying to say beyond, “Man, being a dirty cop sure would be tough!” Read full review
50
NewsdayVerne GayMay 20, 2014
Season 1 Review: Pulp hooey with a comic book vitality and earnestness that manages to keep it (usually) on track. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesLori RacklMay 19, 2014
Season 1 Review: Instead of Ryan being a complex antihero with shades of gray, he’s more like a boring beige. Read full review
40
Under The RadarLily MoayeriMay 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: O'Quinn doesn't have nearly the command he did on Lost, even if he is in charge. Any scenes with the gang members' families are just plain cringe-worthy. Read full review
40
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayMay 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: As badly as the members of Los Angelicos behave, they're always going to be more interesting than the people trying to shut them down. And yet not quite interesting enough to keep me watching as they chase the legitimacy they're never going to catch. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyMay 21, 2014
Season 1 Review: A couple of hail-Mary maneuvers and a lucky coincidence come to the rescue. But it’s clear that Gang Related already has dipped deep into a well that only holds so much water. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian LowryMay 20, 2014
Season 1 Review: Gang Related is a dense serial about loyalty and betrayal, but without enough redeeming qualities to offset its high quotient of ugliness and mayhem. Read full review
33
The Lincoln Journal StarJeff KorbelikMay 19, 2014
Season 1 Review: It features gunfire, bad dialogue, more gunfire and me wondering why Terry O’Quinn keeps signing on to losers like this after winning an Emmy for his work on “Lost.” Read full review
10
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanMay 20, 2014
Season 1 Review: In Fox’s instantly awful Gang Related, it’s pretty clear right away that you’re dealing with a pile of clichés that, pushed together and financed, can never be more than dreadful. Read full review
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