McMillions

:

Season 1
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Feb 3, 2020
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18

Critic Reviews

  1. The Times
    Reviewed by: Carol Midgley
    Jun 9, 2020
    60
    McMillions was a terrific, upbeat, gore-free true-crime story of our times stretched out way, way too long.
  2. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Lucy Mangan
    May 28, 2020
    60
    It is the characters who carry the series, which is remarkably unstylish in execution and rushes through parts of the investigation where you might have preferred it to linger, and lingers where you might have preferred it to pick up the pace a little.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Margaret Lyons
    Feb 3, 2020
    50
    “McMillions” is a fun oasis from misery, a comforting remote world where cheaters are caught and prosecuted. But it also feels slight and uncommanding, letting both your eyes and your mind wander.
  5. Collider
    Reviewed by: Matt Goldberg
    Jan 28, 2020
    50
    Maybe McMillions will get there and be about a story that’s larger than stolen game pieces, but if it does, it will need to get its tone under control. The first episode hints at a story that will be lighthearted and fun, but that doesn’t gel with further revelations or the breadth of the series.
  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Daniel D'Addario
    Jan 28, 2020
    40
    The film seems uncertain how to handle the bounty of both incident and of peculiar humanity that flows out of its story. The pacing, for instance, forces the viewer to hurry up and wait. .... The film leans hard on artless devices, including a predilection for re-enactment that feels like something out of “America’s Most Wanted.” ... [The people in “McMillions”] deserved more serious consideration.

Awards & Rankings

87
#87 Best TV Season of 2020

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. Moose41598
    Feb 6, 2020
    2
    Awful. This documentary is terrible. I read the story when it came out a couple of years ago, and was so excited to show it to my wife when IAwful. This documentary is terrible. I read the story when it came out a couple of years ago, and was so excited to show it to my wife when I saw they were making a documentary. This may just be me projecting but it just feels like Wahlberg's fingers are all over this. Looking for added drama through a score that makes a really weird tone for the entire first episode. Someone behind the scenes really wants to play up the intensity even if the crime and story don't necessarily call for it.

    The main agent, is weird. Strikes me as an entirely unreliable narrator for this documentary. By the time the first episode ends it makes its first twist. But it is a SLOG to get there. The pacing is glacial, the over explanation is monotonous. I don't think that I can make myself tune in for another episode of this.    … Full Review »
  2. 21MJB24
    Jun 10, 2020
    6
    An okay documentary.. goes on a little too long. It’s still interesting, but nothing you HAVE to watch.
  3. UncleWillard
    Feb 12, 2020
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Starts off as an interesting story, but quickly gets super boring. You can tell that MCDs had a huge amount of oversight as they keep mentioning how cooperative they were in assisting. Could have been an interesting documentary film, but not a series.… Full Review »
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