- Network: SHOWTIME
- Series Premiere Date: Jan 8, 2012
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Critic Reviews
- Critic score
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The series is so pervasively cynical--and, by the way, brilliantly funny--it has the potential of making any viewer feel his or her life isn't so bad after all.
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There is much to admire here, from the snap in the dialogue to the show's willingness to tackle issues of race in the workplace--but there might be even more if creator Matthew Carnahan (Dirt) could learn when to stop pushing.
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House of Lies is giving him (and the rest of the actors) something fresh and different to devour, which makes it a show you need to consult with.
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It helps that Cheadle is surrounded by characters, and actors, who seem like they will go interesting places.
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Lies is cynical enough to make "Up in the Air" look like "Once Upon a Time," but it's a stylish, sometimes witty cynicism.
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As a pitiless, biting satire of the debauched state of American big business, it's no lie to call this one of the smartest, funniest shows of the new year.
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It takes a few half-hour episodes before the tone gels. [16 Jan 2012, p.39]
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House of Lies somehow manages to be funny despite it all. That's mostly do to great casting. Cheadle, particularly, is brilliant.
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House of Lies' excesses tend to be counter-balanced by its overall look and feel. The production values are first-rate and the storytelling is crisp.
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House is more solidly built [than "Dirt"], thanks mostly to the bracing quality of Cheadle, who scarcely has time in the mayhem to reconsider what he does.
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This Good Marty/Bad Marty dynamic may prove more fruitful for the show in the long run than the well-worn punching bag that is corporate America.
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Well-crafted and a little--sometimes more than a little--unpleasant.
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House of Lies is sharp, but not big on subtext.
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House of Lies is not a revolutionary show, but it is a fun study of men behaving badly.
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There's enough involving the main characters that I'm willing to stick around for a bit to let the rest of House of Lies find itself.
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Like many of Showtime's most cherished series, House of Lies can be annoying and entertaining at the same time.
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The program is moderately entertaining and very much in keeping with the tone of "Californication."
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Too brittle and full of bile to cleanly hit the target.
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I didn't laugh much. I did, however, check my watch, still secure on my wrist, to determine when the show would be ending.
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With the subtlety of a sledgehammer, the show right away telegraphs that there is more to Kaan than meets the eye, that he's not just a con. We're just not inclined to believe him.
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House of Lies lacks the heart of "Shameless" and Kaan lacks the likability of Duchovny's Hank Moody, which means we care very little about the characters after two episodes.
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[The actors] are cramped by obvious, unsubtle writing and a show that doesn't seem to have much of an idea of where to take these sardonic characters.
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House of Lies about the thievery of management consultants, manages to turn a theme with reasonable comedic potential into a vehicle for 16-year-old males, though dressed up as satire for sophisticates.
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In trying to be about over-the-top characters, it forgets to be about people.
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Because from its embellished execution to its uninspired writing and very conception, the smarmy House of Lies is like so many speculative financial bubbles that characters like Marty have had their hands in: There's just nothing there.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 60 out of 119
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Mixed: 20 out of 119
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Negative: 39 out of 119
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Jan 8, 2012
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Jan 8, 2012
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Apr 12, 2014