Person of Interest

:

Season 1
  • Network: CBS
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 22, 2011
Season #: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 26
  3. Negative: 1 out of 26
Watch Now

Where To Watch

Stream On
Buy on
Stream On

Critic Reviews

  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Sep 22, 2011
    100
    Person of Interest separates itself from the gimmick pack, not only because of superbly nuanced characterization and writing but also because of how it engages a post-9/11 sense of paranoia in its viewers.
  2. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Robert Bianco
    Sep 22, 2011
    88
    They may not enchant you, but they and their series, the best new hour this year, are unlikely to bore you. Would that every new show could say the same.
  3. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    Sep 22, 2011
    83
    [Caviezel] and Emerson make for one of fall's most formidable odd couples.
  5. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    Sep 21, 2011
    83
    A gritty, almost plausible winner, and distant reflection of Stephen Spielberg's "Minority Report."
  6. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Sep 16, 2011
    83
    The show can simultaneously unsettle, comfort, excite, and amuse its viewers--something for everyone, if you, like Mr. Finch, like to watch.
  7. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Storm
    Sep 22, 2011
    80
    Of course, it all sounds preposterous, but so did a movie about a guy who remembered everything backward, and Jonathan Nolan was nominated for a writing Oscar for Memento.
  8. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Sep 22, 2011
    80
    This is the rare crime drama that revels in actual mystery, its dark, paranoid tone embodied by two damaged heroes.
  9. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    Sep 22, 2011
    80
    Some viewers won't buy the premise of the Social Security numbers. Its beauty, though, is that you don't have to.
  10. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Nov 29, 2011
    75
    This could grow into a show of more than ordinary interest. [28 Nov 2011, p.57]
    All this critic's reviews
  11. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Lori Rackl
    Sep 22, 2011
    75
    The first episode unfolds nicely with plenty of suspense and tension. If they can keep it up week after week, they should have no problem holding viewers' interest.
  12. Uncle Barky
    Reviewed by: Ed Bark
    Sep 21, 2011
    75
    Together they'll be the brains and brawn of this operation in times when the broadcast networks aren't particularly interested in take-charge men with acquired tastes for pounding the hell out of bad guys--or shooting them in their thighs. Thanks. We maybe needed that.
  13. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    Sep 21, 2011
    70
    Both Emerson and Caviezel are compelling and the way Nolan and Abrams have constructed the look (lots of nourish far-away shots in crowded streets, a sense of contained doom in an urban city) bodes well. That alone is worth the investment.
  14. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Sep 19, 2011
    70
    The show is a shrewd if not terribly exciting bet on upping the network's hip quotient without straying far from its procedural wheelhouse.
  15. San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa Times
    Reviewed by: Chuck Barney
    Dec 1, 2011
    63
    So far, though, it has mostly kept its ambition in check, preferring to follow the playbook of a typical crime procedural, with a little more darkness and a little less energy.

Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Best TV Season of 2011
11
#11 Most Discussed TV Season of 2011
18
#18 Most Shared TV Season of 2011

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 471 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 416 out of 471
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 471
  3. Negative: 29 out of 471
  1. KennyG
    Feb 3, 2012
    10
    Great, Great, Great Show! A mix of science fiction, drama, action, espionage, etc., etc. I'm sorry for those of you who don't get it. ThereGreat, Great, Great Show! A mix of science fiction, drama, action, espionage, etc., etc. I'm sorry for those of you who don't get it. There are no show like this one. Basically you have "at least" one imperfect person helping others.… Full Review »
  2. JennetP
    Nov 18, 2011
    8
    I like this series better, after 8 episodes, than I did at the beginning. I'm no longer much bothered by its premise: a terror-sniffingI like this series better, after 8 episodes, than I did at the beginning. I'm no longer much bothered by its premise: a terror-sniffing machine so sensitive that it predicts ordinary homicides but not sensitive enough to distinguish murderers from victims. I no longer wonder how even the world's least competent security agency could be induced to throw out data that would save police, courts, and emergency services billions of dollars, not to mention saving innumerable lives. Instead, I now focus on what the machine represents: vigilance without discernment, an omniscience that becomes an end in itself, rather than a means of preserving life and liberty. In that regard, "Person of Interest" seems one of the few 21st-century series to grapple with the effects of 9/11. For that and other reasons, the series now strikes me as fresher and more interesting than others devoted to the pursuit of justice. Where CSI and its spawn celebrate forensic technology as the fastest and purest route to truth, POI takes a more complex view, one focused on the powers, the limits, and the dangers of a technology that can only gesture in the general direction of truth but cannot make crucial distinctions, such as the one between murderer and victim. The contrast is everywhere, from acting style to soundtrack to cinematography. Compared to the luminous pastels and driving rock soundtracks of the CSI's, POI appears ominous and grim: blue-grey establishing shots with faux-CCTV effects, digital framing of random heads, the subtle foreboding of an orchestral score. POI's two principal characters are not heroes but anti-heroes; they are flawed, injured, even knowingly doomed. Both Reese and Finch hide almost everything about themselves, and their tendency to conceal their feelings has alienated some viewers, who feel deprived of an emotional connection to the protagonists. Again, however, I find their formality and circumspection interesting, their oblique dialog a refreshing break from the improbable self-revelation of the average TV crime-fighter. I now hope that other viewers who were, like me, on the fence are starting to appreciate the show.… Full Review »
  3. SaraJ
    Oct 29, 2011
    10
    Has quickly become my favorite tv show - great acting, suspense, and surprises. It keeps your interest through the whole show. Nice changeHas quickly become my favorite tv show - great acting, suspense, and surprises. It keeps your interest through the whole show. Nice change from all the standard mystery shows.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »