Heartbeat (2016)
NBC | Release Date: March 22, 2016
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
9
Negative:
13

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
37
USA TodayRobert BiancoMar 21, 2016
Season 1 Review: As long as the much better Grey's is still on the air, there's absolutely no reason to watch this insipid variation. Read full review
33
TVLineMichael SlezakApr 6, 2016
Season 1 Review: All of Alex’s quirks (she has a tendency to spit while talking) and surgical brilliance (practically on a whim, she pulls off a heart transplant procedure that only four others have managed before her) can’t mask the grim fact that she’s ultimately a collection of threadbare drama-series clichés. ... Even worse, the show’s supporting characters are all some combination of bland, unbelievable, and/or reprehensible. Read full review
30
The WrapAmber DowlingMar 23, 2016
Season 1 Review: Unfortunately, by the end of the first hour, viewers may find themselves looking for a pulse rather than committing to future installments, let alone pondering the state of female medical practitioners in the industry and their work-home life balance. Read full review
30
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerMar 22, 2016
Season 1 Review: It is so overstuffed with action and complications and heavy breathing that it never comes close to being credible. Read full review
30
Yahoo TVKen TuckerMar 22, 2016
Season 1 Review: This star showcase does [Melissa George] no favors.... Dr. Alex doesn’t invite favorable comparisons to any doctor with dignity, and I would guess this series will not have a very long life. Read full review
30
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenMar 22, 2016
Season 1 Review: The relationships are paint-by-numbers predictable as are the plots and Alex's I-know-better-than-everyone-else reactions. Heartbeat has a pulse but just barely. Read full review
30
VarietyBrian LowryMar 21, 2016
Season 1 Review: The series plays like a rather pallid “Grey’s Anatomy” knockoff, featuring another doctor who cares desperately about her patients, runs roughshod over subordinates and bosses alike, and walks and talks very, very fast. Read full review
30
Reason.comGlenn GarvinMar 18, 2016
Season 1 Review: Homicidally irritating. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergMar 18, 2016
Season 1 Review: Heartbeat is, sadly, a show without much of a pulse. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubGwen IhnatMar 22, 2016
Season 1 Review: Where Grey’s benefits from an ensemble approach, Heartbeat pins all its hopes on this one surgeon, and the problem is that she’s obnoxious, and nearly infallible.... That’s why Heartbeat is doomed: We’ve seen more compelling versions of all of this before. Read full review
25
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonMar 22, 2016
Season 1 Review: It's completely ridiculous. Read full review
20
The Salt Lake TribuneScott D. PierceMar 22, 2016
Season 1 Review: This series recycles just about every TV medical drama cliché you can imagine. It's not just that it's predictable, but it's utterly unbelievable. And all attempts to make it quirky and delightful just make it lame and dumb. Read full review
10
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMar 22, 2016
Season 1 Review: Heartbeat feels like it sprung to life from a computer program that had been fed the scripts of every medical drama in the last two decades. It has no pulse. Read full review
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