Hemlock Grove

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Apr 19, 2013
Season #: 3, 2, 1
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 234 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 175 out of 234
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 234
  3. Negative: 33 out of 234
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  1. luv
    Apr 3, 2014
    2
    This show is a more boring version of "True Blood" apparently aimed at a younger audience with sociopathic tendencies. I mean, that's why gore and sex are the show's fall backs, right? It's too bad because they have a decent cast and the show is shot well. The dialog, however, is forced and the story lines don't make up for it. The characters are shallow and uninteresting. FiveThis show is a more boring version of "True Blood" apparently aimed at a younger audience with sociopathic tendencies. I mean, that's why gore and sex are the show's fall backs, right? It's too bad because they have a decent cast and the show is shot well. The dialog, however, is forced and the story lines don't make up for it. The characters are shallow and uninteresting. Five episodes in I still didn't care about any of them. There's a lot of sex and nudity, which I guess is supposed to make it feel edgy. Instead, it just seems they're trying to distract you from the fact that NOTHING IS HAPPENING. Well, that's not fair. A lot happens, just not anything that you care about. And the big "revelations" aren't enough to make you care what's coming next. It's like someone wrote down every idea he got from a drunken binge-watching of "American Horror Story" and then hired the producers of "True Blood" to make this junk for Netflix. Sure, my writing isn't great, but it's Pulitzer-prize winning material compared to this tripe.… Expand
  2. Shakaama
    Apr 29, 2013
    0
    1. the script is lackluster and poor, and that's being generous. everything about the show is mundane. sure there's a guy that turns into a dog, but that's about it. nearly all of the show involves actors standing delivering lines OR having softcore porn on screen, which i hate with a passion, it's just evidence of wasting 15 minutes, without dialogue. This is a detective story with one1. the script is lackluster and poor, and that's being generous. everything about the show is mundane. sure there's a guy that turns into a dog, but that's about it. nearly all of the show involves actors standing delivering lines OR having softcore porn on screen, which i hate with a passion, it's just evidence of wasting 15 minutes, without dialogue. This is a detective story with one character having psychic powers and the other being able to turn into a dog, which doesn't help the plot at all.
    2. the actors are terribad. literally it is like they are reading the script as they film it. the fake accent is over the top bad.
    3. the gore is unnecessary and misplaced. the writers literally are like, "oh and we need gore this episode", and the pull out a flash back of a gore scene or randomly show someone being pummeled, with blood oozing out.
    4. this series is about tricks and not about story. There is one episode where they have 10 sex scenes, including a lesbian one. so let's count, that's the entire episode. They literally had nothing to write about that day. and, if sex doesn't do it for you, wait up, someone is going to get mad over nothing, so you can see some anger drama. but, wait, if that's not your gig, they'll pull out the gore stick, here boy, fetch, look at the gore.
    5. sloooooooooooooooooow, everything is slow in this series. for 9 episodes we have no clue what the real plot is, who they are talking about, who this dragon is, why does one character have psychic powers; why does one character turn into a dog; why do the two main women hate each other; why is the uncle screwing his sister, when he is married. At some point some of these answer need to come to light.    … Expand
  3. Spyke
    Oct 20, 2013
    3
    This show is pretty terrible. The more I watch, the worse it gets. I really enjoyed the first two or three episodes but it just keeps declining in quality.

    I don't even know what Famke Janssen is trying to do when she speaks, her accent is well off. The storyline just drags and halfway through the season doesn't seem to go anywhere. The only good thing to say is that several of the    This show is pretty terrible. The more I watch, the worse it gets. I really enjoyed the first two or three episodes but it just keeps declining in quality.

    I don't even know what Famke Janssen is trying to do when she speaks, her accent is well off. The storyline just drags and halfway through the season doesn't seem to go anywhere.

    The only good thing to say is that several of the actors are great as are the effects.

    They're lucky this is a Netflix show because if this aired on TV it would've been cancelled.    … Expand
  4. vamanos
    Apr 25, 2013
    1
    Who's idea was this series? I had some hopes for this Netflix production after watching House of Cards, but this is unwatchable. Clearly this is a craven attempt to cash in on the backs of all the strandedTwilight fans, but this makes Twilight look like Shakespeare.The primarily young cast is certainly attractive enough and the locations outside of Toronto look quite good in HD, but theWho's idea was this series? I had some hopes for this Netflix production after watching House of Cards, but this is unwatchable. Clearly this is a craven attempt to cash in on the backs of all the strandedTwilight fans, but this makes Twilight look like Shakespeare.The primarily young cast is certainly attractive enough and the locations outside of Toronto look quite good in HD, but the amateurish writing, bad accents (and even worse acting)as well as the seemingly arbitrary character and plot development makes you squirm in your seat. Famke's accent (vaguely Euro-Something) stands out as the worst among many bad ones Lily Taylor talent is especially wasted in this mess. Don't bother. Your time will be better spent watching Buffy reruns.… Expand
  5. Woodsy
    Apr 19, 2013
    3
    Just watched the Pilot and...wow, what a chore that ended up being. Terrible script, terrible acting, pacing issues galore, no interesting characters. Jannsen's accent is a total mess. This NF original doesn't come close to the quality of House of Cards. Avoid it.
  6. knnthp3
    Jun 28, 2013
    1
    Here are some headlines that should follow this show:

    ...Frustrating ...The worst TV Show of the year ...Netflix's second original show a real dud! ...Seriously?! I just wasted hours of my life! ...You (Netflix) renewed this crap for a 2nd season?! ...I'd rather ask my brother hit me in the face with a hammer! This show is terrible! From the blatant story holes to the weird    Here are some headlines that should follow this show:

    ...Frustrating
    ...The worst TV Show of the year
    ...Netflix's second original show a real dud!
    ...Seriously?! I just wasted hours of my life!
    ...You (Netflix) renewed this crap for a 2nd season?!
    ...I'd rather ask my brother hit me in the face with a hammer!

    This show is terrible! From the blatant story holes to the weird dialogue which no one speaks like that) the show is a plethora of terrible cliche's and horrible stories. Does anyone understand what's going on half the time?! It's terribly frustrating and the characters are just plain awful. I read the review for the book the show is based on, and the reviews for the book are almost identical to that of the show.

    Perhaps Eli Roth was a one hit wonder with Hostel because this show might be the worst garbage I've ever seen.    … Expand
  7. kvonbose
    Apr 21, 2013
    3
    This is really hard to watch. the main characters are decent actors, but a lot of the show is spoiled by terrible acting from the supporting cast and extras etc. I almost immediately felt like someone was trying to make a serious show based off The Monster Mash. It's just too far of a stretch to get on board with.
  8. F-Rott
    May 2, 2013
    0
    My wife and I tried to watch Hemlock Grove on Netflix last night, but it was apparently written by an immature teenage boy. Within the FIRST MINUTE, there were cheerleaders, teacher/student lesbianism, a "bad boy" from a "bad family", a hook up and prostitution. It was poorly implemented and forced. Thumbs way down for that drivel.
  9. Venusian
    May 7, 2013
    3
    I went into this show with no expectation other than the hope of it being watchable but it WAS not even that for me. It felt uneasy to watch because I could not make sense of what it wanted to say. It just seemed to be going nowhere. Although the sister who was tall and had a disfigurement was the most intriguing of the characters.
  10. HSiffel
    May 13, 2013
    3
    I've never written a review before but feel the need to express my opinion on this piece of work. It started out well...but the characters towards the end fail to make sense. There are scenes where they seem to gloss over important events. Also, there are times they are smoking where there is no smoke..? ...it just seemed sloppy for how much money was put into it. And the storyline atI've never written a review before but feel the need to express my opinion on this piece of work. It started out well...but the characters towards the end fail to make sense. There are scenes where they seem to gloss over important events. Also, there are times they are smoking where there is no smoke..? ...it just seemed sloppy for how much money was put into it. And the storyline at the end is just disappointing....lets just kill off every female character under the age of twenty........who can route for Roman anyway after what he did? He's a psycho rapist. Eh, I don't know....just too far out for me...… Expand
  11. Sugarbear8
    Jun 9, 2013
    3
    I am torn on this series. First off, I really enjoy the storyline and how it still keeps things mysterious and interesting. The acting got progressively worse as the series went along. It got so bad that its what ruined it for me. However, I do think that the actor that plays the Werewolf is the exception to that. I've always liked Famke but she doesn't pull off the accent AT ALL. Also,I am torn on this series. First off, I really enjoy the storyline and how it still keeps things mysterious and interesting. The acting got progressively worse as the series went along. It got so bad that its what ruined it for me. However, I do think that the actor that plays the Werewolf is the exception to that. I've always liked Famke but she doesn't pull off the accent AT ALL. Also, the actor that plays Roman has a real life accent that shows through in his character so this character sometimes has an accent. I didn't notice it at first but the more the show went on the worse it got. Ugh. It's really annoying and it throws me off of what I'm watching. I wish Netflix had put more into their casting because its a very interesting story. Sure it has Werewolves and other unknown creatures but its different enough to not be just another monster show. With a name like Skarsgaard (Roman), I expected more but was let down. The female "cop" is really dragging the show down also with poor acting. Since a recast is not going to happen I hope that season 2 keeps the story going since the story and the Werewolf actor are its saving graces. Dear Netflix, please work on the Skarsgaard accent and the Famke accent...PLEASE!!! It's HORRIBLE!!!… Expand
  12. finnigan37
    Apr 21, 2013
    0
    I had to turn it off about 2/3 through the first episode. The acting was ridiculous and Famke Janssen's accent was so bad that I was embarrassed for her. The production value looks like an amateur high school project and the dialogue is cheesy and robotic. A serious misstep for Netflix. Nowhere near the quality of House of Cards.
  13. Sydares
    Apr 21, 2013
    0
    As a fan of werewolf movies, I was eagerly looking forward to this
    show. I went in with no expectations or biases, having never so much as
    viewed a trailer for it. Sadly, Hemlock Grove fails to deliver in every possible way. The first episode's narrative was impossible to follow, the characterization is shallow, the music is amateur and heavy-handed, the camera-work and editing    As a fan of werewolf movies, I was eagerly looking forward to this
    show. I went in with no expectations or biases, having never so much as
    viewed a trailer for it.

    Sadly, Hemlock Grove fails to deliver in every possible way. The first
    episode's narrative was impossible to follow, the characterization is
    shallow, the music is amateur and heavy-handed, the camera-work and
    editing choices absolutely baffling, and the acting is absolutely
    painful to behold.

    I want not only 50 minutes of my life, but the brain cells I lost while
    watching this show's first episode back really couldn't subject
    myself to view any more of it.

    Don't waste your time on this one.    … Expand
  14. vincesz
    Apr 20, 2013
    2
    dog sh!t would be too kind a description for this show. the acting is awful, the accents are unbelievable, the people are irrational. It's basically twilight the TV show (or what I imagine to be twilight the TV show since I've never seen or read twilight).. I couldnt take more than 20 minutes of episode one and was tempted to just cancel my netflix subscription in protest of this ranciddog sh!t would be too kind a description for this show. the acting is awful, the accents are unbelievable, the people are irrational. It's basically twilight the TV show (or what I imagine to be twilight the TV show since I've never seen or read twilight).. I couldnt take more than 20 minutes of episode one and was tempted to just cancel my netflix subscription in protest of this rancid manure

    It's a sad showing that the shown in the first 30 seconds are probably the best thing to come from this garbage    … Expand
  15. pcloadletter
    Apr 22, 2013
    0
    This is a bad show...embarrassingly bad. From start to finish. The story line is ridiculous, the acting horrible, pacing unjustifiably slow, Famke's accent is ridiculous and the only reason I finished watching the series was because it was such a train wreck I had to see how much worse it could get. The craziest part of the series is that there were rooms full of producers, directors andThis is a bad show...embarrassingly bad. From start to finish. The story line is ridiculous, the acting horrible, pacing unjustifiably slow, Famke's accent is ridiculous and the only reason I finished watching the series was because it was such a train wreck I had to see how much worse it could get. The craziest part of the series is that there were rooms full of producers, directors and executives s at Netflix that saw this once it was done and didn't yank it immediately and throw it into the trash.… Expand
  16. CriticoDubioso
    May 6, 2013
    2
    Sloooowwwww.....when we got to the middle of Episode 7 we just could not stand it any more and had to fast forward to hope to get thru the remaining ones quickly. We stopped at E10.

    I got so fed up with this show that I searched the internet to find the ending before I went to bed. From what I read the ending left a lot of answers unanswered, guess to attempt to stretch it out into    Sloooowwwww.....when we got to the middle of Episode 7 we just could not stand it any more and had to fast forward to hope to get thru the remaining ones quickly. We stopped at E10.

    I got so fed up with this show that I searched the internet to find the ending before I went to bed. From what I read the ending left a lot of answers unanswered, guess to attempt to stretch it out into Season 2,3,4.....oh please, NO!!!! No more!!!!! How many more times do we need to see these characters having sex (not even good scenes), and listen to their same long drawn boring conversations?! This book should have been a two hrs show and that's it!!!

    TO: TV executives, please make note that not every book or a show idea needs to be a multiple season show. Do what other countries do, create an interesting show that ends in six months, than move on to another story. When you stretch out a show by inserting reruns between episodes, and the audience has to wait five months for the new episodes, audience like us would have forgotten the storyline and lost interest with the characters to follow it further. It is a big turnoff to look forward to watch the show and it turned out to be a rerun.Good example for us are: Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Lost...we have stopped watching it all together.    … Expand
  17. femeatsix
    Jul 1, 2015
    0
    My first disappointment with this series was the werewolf looks like a dog puppie as we've seen in Twiligh, I'd like to met who created this kind of "werewolf" and kill that person.
    Second, the sex scenes becomes so saturated that doesn't even make sense at a moment, some scenes already begins with a blowjob and u starts to think "humm, something is going to happen" or "this scene must    My first disappointment with this series was the werewolf looks like a dog puppie as we've seen in Twiligh, I'd like to met who created this kind of "werewolf" and kill that person.
    Second, the sex scenes becomes so saturated that doesn't even make sense at a moment, some scenes already begins with a blowjob and u starts to think "humm, something is going to happen" or "this scene must have make sense to the plot, lets see what they'll say after" and then, NOTHING..... nothing happens, they just stop to have sex and begin a randomic conversation, c'mon netflix.... stop this ****    … Expand
  18. ilovegames32
    Sep 9, 2014
    3
    This is the third netflix original tv series I've watched and so far I'm 1 out of 3! Yet again, netflix has released another terrible show onto unsuspecting people! This one is worse than "orange is the new black", at least story wise. Hemlock grove starts off with some guy in a store just staring at the entrance door, some girl looks in and walks away, the next scene is those same twoThis is the third netflix original tv series I've watched and so far I'm 1 out of 3! Yet again, netflix has released another terrible show onto unsuspecting people! This one is worse than "orange is the new black", at least story wise. Hemlock grove starts off with some guy in a store just staring at the entrance door, some girl looks in and walks away, the next scene is those same two people having sex in and a car. The guy she's screwing obviously has a thing for blood as you find out later in this horrible series. Next up, some girl is invited to her teacher's home(female teacher) but she gets mauled by an animal in a field. I've never seen a collection of UNINTERESTING characters in a tv show....ever! i literally hated every characterexcept Olivia, she was the only reason i watched the first season,her son wasn't just a spoiled little brat, his acting is TERRIBLE!, and he's completely unlikable! peter(he's a wolf) is a gypse and lives with his mom and is also unlikable....the somewhat friendship isn't even worth discussing since their always at each other's throats, also, I've never seen high school kids look so grown up...they spend the majority of their time getting drunk,smoking and snorting coke. The first few deaths occur between episodes 1 and 2 and after that, NOTHING interesting happens until episode 7! Its just terrible, there's a scene where peter is getting harnessed by his school mates, he pushs one of them and he tries to get away but guess where he runs....the freaking school bus!? After the first person is killed, the police dont even check the girls phone and questions the teacher....oh and shelly...well what can i say, she's just some disfigured girl...nothing to see here..i guess...all through season 1 there's no hint of the killers identity(which is good) but when you see who it is....well lets just say that i wasn't buying it. The story is weak and full of plot holes and generally doesn't make sense...to become a wolf all you have to do is drink from it's paw print!? how absurd! And about that scene in the final episode..my god, that had to be THE. WORST. final ten minutes I've ever seen, did she want him to eat the baby? or just feed on it a little? In any case, it left more questions then answers which i doubt is worth finding out in season 2! Watching each episode was hard since i just hated the characters, they were so bland and uninteresting too me,i didn't have an inkling of sympathy for any character save for Olivia. 3/10… Expand
  19. ElfQueen
    Dec 14, 2014
    2
    @Woodsy - I agree, nothing grabs my attention, cliche characters and script. Roman Godfrey (Bill Skarsgard) is trying too hard to be Steve Buscemi, a la Boardwalk Empire. But he's supposed to be in high school. In fact, all the "kids" look too old. I'll give it one more episode, otherwise I'm out.
  20. Revelision
    Jul 17, 2014
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I had not watched HG up until July 2014. I was so eager to start watching the series after seeing the buzz over social media when Season 2 uploaded to Netflx. I just *forced* myself to finish Season 1 and what an unpleasant experience that was. I understand that a fair amount of gore is expected for horror shows; but much of it was obviously & shamelessly gratuitous. Having Peter's face eaten off, and having him return later with full face intact was senseless and did nothing to explain or enhance the story. Other explicit sexual imagery; such as Olivia fondling her son's aroused genitalia through his trousers was also irrelevant & unnecessary, yet the writers simply threw it in for no justifiable reason. I'll pass on Season 2. What a shame. It started out with such promise. It was so engaging at first, but then it took some sort of "sell-out" plunge, as if to cater to the worst, classless, basest denominator.… Expand
  21. dneill
    Sep 14, 2015
    2
    The worst thing that can happen in the horror genre, especially a TV series, is for it to bore you to death. Fans of Horror will not find themselves binge watching this on Netflix. Between the main character fighting with his lines trying not to let his true accent slip and the awfully written dialog I recommend users to stay far far away.
  22. AyogaB
    Feb 2, 2016
    1
    This series had a lot of potential, but it has way to high of a creep factor. I love vampire shows, but I'm so sick of seeing vapid, scared victim women or the over-bearing demonic mother. Let's have some realistic women, please. The story moves so slowly, and the plot is very weak. Terrible dialogue and bizarre character motivations that are extremely underdeveloped. The rape in episode 7This series had a lot of potential, but it has way to high of a creep factor. I love vampire shows, but I'm so sick of seeing vapid, scared victim women or the over-bearing demonic mother. Let's have some realistic women, please. The story moves so slowly, and the plot is very weak. Terrible dialogue and bizarre character motivations that are extremely underdeveloped. The rape in episode 7 was the final straw. C'mon Netflix, it is possible to have a compelling story and engaging scifi-drama without rape and excessive violence against women. Glorifying rape, like in episode 7, is very damaging to our culture. It harms our men by making it seem okay. It harms our women, by making them think its normal. Sadly, it is all too common. The leering cousin infatuation was horrible and disgusting and then to make him a rapist just ruined this show. Thanks for triggering my rape trauma with your horrible writing. Get some more women in your executive office and try to create a thriller with strong female characters instead of weak, insecure, victims that you love to portray in almost all your Netflix Originals series. We are all getting tired of it, I assure you.… Expand
  23. pierco
    Jun 4, 2016
    1
    This is an awful show like Twilight and so badly written. A drama / horror that the only reason is 7.5 is because stupid people voted 10 because it had a low score. Mostly females and weird males that like crap like Twilight. You are destroying the planet fools.

Awards & Rankings

12
#12 Most Discussed TV Season of 2013
33
#33 Most Shared TV Season of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
45

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 17
  3. Negative: 6 out of 17
  1. The Daily Beast
    Reviewed by: Jace Lacob
    May 30, 2013
    20
    The Roth-directed drama is an almost unwatchable muddle of horror tropes and painfully creaky dialogue.
    Read full review
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Jessica Shaw
    Apr 24, 2013
    83
    Hemlock Grove takes its time with story lines, ensuring that each one has plenty of room to ripen. It carries out every dastardly deed with gusto, but still offers enough moments of levity.
    Read full review
  3. Uncle Barky
    Reviewed by: Ed Bark
    Apr 24, 2013
    58
    Hemlock Grove overall falls well short of anything resembling sustained brilliance. Still, each episode may well push just enough buttons to pull you along to the next one.
    Read full review
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