Messiah (2020)

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 1, 2020
Metascore
46

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
Watch Now

Where To Watch

Stream On

Critic Reviews

  1. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Lucy Mangan
    Jan 9, 2020
    80
    Messiah is potent stuff packed with fine performances.
  2. CNN
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Jan 9, 2020
    60
    The series has a lot going on, and it's certainly food for thought. Yet given what a third-rail topic the subject tends to be, the rewards don't seem to justify the risk, in the same way the merits of "Messiah" season one, once completed, don't wholly justify the time investment.
  3. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Nick Allen
    Jan 9, 2020
    50
    Netflix’s “Messiah” is a half-fascinating, half-frustrating new series.
  5. The Daily Beast
    Reviewed by: Nick Schager
    Jan 9, 2020
    40
    It’s one thing to stoke audiences’ imagination and anxiety with uncertainty, but do it for too long, and to no conclusive end, and what you’re left with is characters, situations and conundrums that are increasingly impossible to care about—especially when the show has nothing enlightening to say about them.
  6. The Telegraph
    Reviewed by: Ed Power
    Jan 9, 2020
    40
    Messiah is a New Year’s curio that doesn’t know whether it wants to be an esoteric rumination on leadership and hope or a spy romp with New Testament bells on. ... The real twist, however, is how divinely underwhelming the whole thing is.
  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Daniel D'Addario
    Jan 9, 2020
    40
    Because Eva is such a bland character and Al-Massih is by the show’s design unknowable — yielding nothing over the show’s first half other than miracles we don’t know whether to take at face value — there’s vastly less here. Over the show’s first season, no viewer could be blamed for eventually giving up the faith.
  8. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: John Anderson
    Jan 9, 2020
    40
    So much is so right about “Messiah” that it makes the eventual collapse into paranoid politics and alt-right clichés all the more painful. ... By the end of episode 10, you’re not sure that “Messiah” believes in much.
  9. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Daniel Fienberg
    Jan 9, 2020
    30
    Don't be fooled by the Netflix auspices, the reasonably decent production values and a couple wildly overqualified castmembers. ... If you're not on the fence and you're eager to watch Messiah...enjoy. My saying it's a badly made show doesn't make it exist any less.

Awards & Rankings

39
#39 Most Discussed TV Season of 2020

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 32 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 32
  3. Negative: 5 out of 32
  1. Gnarl
    Jan 11, 2020
    9
    Starting this series without much expectations, it gave me a quite nice surprise.
    Driving around the thought on whether the protagonist is    Starting this series without much expectations, it gave me a quite nice surprise.
    Driving around the thought on whether the protagonist is the supposed messiah (or a let's call him at least a holy man) or a charlatan, the viewer can never be too sure about his point of view, as along all the show, both options seem to be likely.
    This series excels in creating enough tension to keep the viewer interested throughout all time but never at the costs of dull action or violence like other shows do.

    It could have gone more into depth about spiritual or religious thought though, but maybe they wanted to avoid to offend some groups by going to much into details. Still very recommendable and food for thoughts.    … Full Review »
  2. houmie
    Jan 18, 2020
    7
    The show is amazing. Without spoiling anything the finale is very much believable given how our geopolitics are running these days. The showThe show is amazing. Without spoiling anything the finale is very much believable given how our geopolitics are running these days. The show also depicts the dark side of Israel and American foreign policy. In a time where anything anti-Israel is misunderstood as anti-semitism, this was a bold move to make from the producers and I'm glad they made it.

    The show drags on without much happening in fifth and sixth episodes, which makes you almost want to stop watching the show. But it gets again much better in the end. There are some inconsistencies with the Messiah's name, that doesn't match his actual origin in the show. They simply didn't manage to nail the cultural differences very well.

    In the 50s/60s the Western audience regarded the whole Far East as the 'China men'. No distinction was made between different countries, cultures and even looks. Today we experience the same with the Middle East, everyone is thrown into the same pot. Actors with thick Arabic accents speak Persian and play the Iranians. I don't understand why they haven't picked Iranian actors to play these roles. Given there are millions of Iranians living in Los Angeles and many of them working as actors, it wouldn't have been that hard. It's a shame because that subtle difference adds a cultural debt to the show if they had gone that extra mile.

    The show clearly borrowed the concepts of the illusion and believe from the Persian Sufis Shams and Rumi. I hope they go deeper into this direction in season two. All in all, it's very good and the acting is convincing.    … Full Review »
  3. Marnip
    Apr 9, 2020
    0
    This is a **** show believe me !!!!
    Be careful and Don't waste your time please !!
See all user reviews »