Motive
ABC | CTV | Release Date: February 3, 2013
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
9
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
New York PostSara StewartMay 21, 2014
Season 2 Review: If you’re a genre fan, Motive is a satisfyingly different way to get your murder-mystery fix. Read full review
75
People WeeklyTom GliattoMay 16, 2013
Season 1 Review: Motive isn't ingenious enough to motivate imitations or spinoffs, but it's smooth and diverting. [27 May 2013, p.40]
70
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandMay 20, 2013
Season 1 Review: Its nonlinear, whydunit approach makes the show stand out. The fractured loop-de-loop narrative creates not just surprise but suspense. Read full review
67
Uncle BarkyEd BarkMay 16, 2013
Season 1 Review: It’s a reasonably involving series made better by the chemistry between the two leads. Read full review
60
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenMay 20, 2013
Season 1 Review: It doesn't reinvent the genre by any stretch but this lighter tone is noteworthy. Read full review
50
HitfixAlan SepinwallMay 20, 2013
Season 1 Review: The characters don't feel any richer here than they do on CBS' various cop shows, and the series doesn't even commit to how much it wants to keep you guessing about why the crime occurred. Read full review
50
RedEyeCurt WagnerMay 20, 2013
Season 1 Review: Both believable and appealing as the hard-bitten homicide investigator, Lehman provides the only real motive for tuning in. Read full review
50
The New York TimesMike HaleMay 20, 2013
Season 1 Review: It’s reasonably smart, reasonably interesting and reasonably well acted without being particularly good. Read full review
50
NewsdayDiane WertsMay 17, 2013
Season 1 Review: Lehman is good, most everything's OK, but nothing is especially fresh or compelling. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandMay 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: Instead of being a whodunit, Motive is a "whydunit," which, except for the appeal of the show's star, amounts to a "whocares." Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraMay 20, 2013
Season 1 Review: There is really only one reason to watch ABC's Canadian-import place-holder crime drama Motive--Kristin Lehman. Read full review
40
PopMattersDorothy Burk VasquezMay 20, 2013
Season 1 Review: The standard pieces are all here, just fit into the hour in a different order. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian LowryMay 16, 2013
Season 1 Review: Lehman’s character is allowed to exhibit a bit of a personal life, but for the most part the series doesn’t stray far from its criminal motif. Nor do other members of the squad have enough material to register beyond a blip. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineMike LechevallierMay 22, 2013
Season 1 Review: Motive flounders chiefly, however, because it expends lasting suspense by providing the audience with all the hard facts they need up front, subsequently granting them an invitation to leave the party early. Read full review
30
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushMay 20, 2013
Season 1 Review: You've heard of open-and-shut cases. Motive is more like open and yawn. Read full review
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