Greenleaf
OWN | Release Date: June 21, 2016
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Washington PostHank StueverJun 17, 2016
Season 1 Review: Greenleaf never once forgets that it is first and foremost a television show--and a soapy-sudsy one at that. But it is also an impeccably written and often beautifully envisioned family drama, reflecting a level of care and authenticity rarely seen in fictional stories about church life. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubJoshua AlstonJul 28, 2016
Season 1 Review: As with many soapy dramas, Greenleaf’s strength lies more in its performances than its writing, though Wright and his team are surprisingly restrained, even as they build to histrionic cliffhangers. Read full review
83
NewsdayVerne GayJun 20, 2016
Season 1 Review: As a viewing experience, Greenleaf is absorbing, hardly pulse-quickening. Read full review
75
NewsdayVerne GayAug 24, 2018
Season 3 Review: A solid two-night opener, and the next couple of episodes are even better. Read full review
75
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardJun 20, 2016
Season 1 Review: Dandridge is a standout as the sister rediscovering her love of faith even as her doubts about her family grow. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyJeff JensenJun 20, 2016
Season 1 Review: As soap, Greenleaf bubbles with an abundance of intrigue and too many clichés. ... Still, the characters are compelling enough, and the performances are uniformly strong, if a touch too serious. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonJun 20, 2016
Season 1 Review: The big family doesn’t quite sort itself out in the first two episodes, with a second airing Wednesday. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Matt Zoller SeitzJun 21, 2016
Season 1 Review: Greenleaf packs a lot of plot into its first few episodes, building gracefully to revelations and confrontations, and playing to its actors' strengths. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraJun 21, 2016
Season 1 Review: With a talented ensemble and exquisite location work, it’s a solid night-time soap with top notes of consciousness-raising and the added bonus of returning Winfrey to the flat screen (albeit in a co-starring role). Read full review
70
Philadelphia InquirerEllen GrayJun 21, 2016
Season 1 Review: The family has its sordid secrets--what TV family doesn't?--but Greenleaf stands out in those moments when we see how much Grace misses the life she once thought she had, one of absolute, or at least less complicated, belief. Read full review
70
Yahoo TVKen TuckerJun 21, 2016
Season 1 Review: The series is uneven, but in an intriguing way--it keeps you wanting to see more. Read full review
70
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenJun 20, 2016
Season 1 Review: Ms. Dandridge makes a positive impression as the show’s lead character and it helps that she has such strong support from Mr. David and especially Ms. Whitfield, whose character proves an effortlessly serene scene-stealer. Read full review
70
VarietyMaureen RyanJun 17, 2016
Season 1 Review: All in all, though Greenleaf strays a bit, it manages to balance its many priorities with something that approaches grace, which is only appropriate for a story set in the house of the Lord. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergJun 16, 2016
Season 1 Review: It remains to be seen how well Greenleaf will hold attention after the novelty wears off and the storylines have to stand on their own, but after three episodes it's a promising start. Read full review
70
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertJun 16, 2016
Season 1 Review: The tension between true worship and religious lip service gives Greenleaf an extra spark. Read full review
60
The WrapMekeisha Madden TobyJun 21, 2016
Season 1 Review: For all of its ambition, the drama feels lopsided at times because Winfrey, Whitfield, David and Dandridge’s performances are so dominate and riveting, they dwarf everything else. In order to compel viewers to keep coming back, Wright and company will have to either focus solely on the big four--more Oprah, please--or flesh out the ancillary portrayals so that they’re more distinctive. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushJun 16, 2016
Season 1 Review: A glossy guilty pleasure that aspires to be Empire with pews. [20-26 Jun 2016, p.17]
60
The Salt Lake TribuneScott D. PierceJun 15, 2016
Season 1 Review: Greenleaf is a big ol' soap opera. A pretty good soap, as a matter of fact, filled with more than its share of characters who are instantly unlikable. Read full review
50
TimeDaniel D'AddarioJun 23, 2016
Season 1 Review: A soap that alternates between unartfully delivered exposition, provocative weirdness and real insight. Read full review
50
We Got This CoveredMitchel BroussardJun 22, 2016
Season 1 Review: The show is earnest--perhaps to a fault--but its hollow stakes have the tension of a wet blanket and its most interesting offerings in the way of gripping television, mainly centering on a few intriguing theological disputes, are far too fleeting. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandJun 20, 2016
Season 1 Review: Wright has thrown everything into the mare’s nest of a plot you can think of--and the reason you can think of it is because most of it is pretty standard for nighttime soap operas. The one unexpected element, of course, is religion. Read full review
50
Sioux City JournalBruce MillerJun 13, 2016
Season 1 Review: The drama that surrounds them is fairly familiar and hardly religion-specific. Greenleaf World Ministries needs more of the details that would make this more than just another soap opera. 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