Once Upon a Time
ABC | Release Date: October 23, 2011
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
11
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Zap2it (Inside the Box)Rick PorterOct 24, 2011
Season 1 Review: No other new show this fall is attempting to tell a bigger story, and we're hoping the rough patches smooth out and it fulfills the potential that's there in its very strong cast and premise. Read full review
60
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenOct 24, 2011
Season 1 Review: In its pilot, Once Upon a Time succeeds on charm but comes up short on logic. Read full review
60
The New York TimesMike HaleOct 21, 2011
Season 1 Review: Watching the pilot again, though, it became harder to ignore the soap opera underpinnings and the twee sentimentality. Read full review
60
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanOct 21, 2011
Season 1 Review: There are times when the enterprise lacks a certain heft and when the fantasy realm seems a little generic. Also, some characters, especially Lana Parrilla's Evil Queen (who is also the mayor of Storybrooke), are one-dimensional in kind of maddening ways, though Robert Carlyle makes up for that with his charismatic turn as both Rumplestiltskin and a Storybrooke resident named Mr. Gold. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf SmithOct 21, 2011
Season 1 Review: Unfolding simultaneously in two distinct worlds, the series has an enchanting premise, even if it plods at times when it should sparkle and soar. Read full review
58
HitfixAlan SepinwallOct 21, 2011
Season 1 Review: The larger problem, though, is that unless you're deeply invested in the fairy tale characters and seeing the variations on their familiar backstories--seeing, for instance, that Snow and Charming had a very different first meeting than the one we know about--then most of the story and character work is flat, despite a cast of likable, game actors. Read full review
58
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertSep 21, 2011
Season 1 Review: The ambition is impressive...But Morrison is a wooden lead, and the back stories--a random collection of fairy tales--don't promise to surprise. Read full review
50
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardOct 6, 2017
Season 7 Review: One problem with the new season is we have too few favorites left and not nearly enough time with them. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanOct 24, 2011
Season 1 Review: The show is a bold idea, and there's hope for the modern-world portions, but it doesn't quite know what it is (or maybe it does, but the audience won't). Read full review
40
SlateTroy PattersonOct 28, 2011
Season 1 Review: The series, fueling itself with folklore, proceeds as if no characterization is required. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyOct 21, 2011
Season 1 Review: To draw out the story by looping it through subplots and minidramas runs the risk of turning it into a fairy-tale soap opera--when what we really want to know is whether the tragic Snow White or the lonely Emma can in the end live happily ever after. Read full review
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