Players (2022)
Paramount+ | Release Date: June 16, 2022
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
97
Paste MagazineShane RyanJun 15, 2022
Season 1 Review: It’s spectacular. ... It’s funny as hell, which is no surprise, but somehow that all feels less important than the gripping narrative of the team. Read full review
91
ConsequenceClint WorthingtonJun 13, 2022
Season 1 Review: Much like Vandal, the real thrill of Players isn’t just the deadpan perfection of its joke delivery, but its ability to build the real-world stakes and characters of the best sports docs on top of the gags. Read full review
91
IndieWireSteve GreeneJun 13, 2022
Season 1 Review: “Players” uses the form to pick apart what drives each of these people. There’s no need to choose between someone telling a good story and someone living that story in real time when the show finds illuminating ways to capitalize on both. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Kathryn VanArendonkJun 17, 2022
Season 1 Review: Even though Players is a foreign setting to me, it is also a fun and poignant portrait of some specific types of guys. Read full review
80
VarietyCaroline FramkeJun 16, 2022
Season 1 Review: While so many others might have approached the world of esports with an eye for the hyperbolic, there’s absolutely nothing mocking about the way “Players” explores it as a community, and it’s a better show for it. Read full review
80
DeciderJoel KellerJun 16, 2022
Season 1 Review: You don’t have to be a gamer to enjoy Players, even though the inside references will likely give gamers a smile. It’s a classic story about the veteran being displaced by an overconfident rookie, and it’s one that’s executed well. Read full review
80
The Daily BeastLaura BradleyJun 16, 2022
Season 1 Review: Although Players never quite matches the quotability of “who did the dicks,” it’s packed with lines seemingly designed in a lab to break ribs. ... [Creamcheese is] no Dylan Maxwell, but I’ll give Misha Brooks this: Not since Thomas Middleditch’s Richard Hendricks has a TV nerd been this addictively despicable. Read full review
80
PrimetimerAaron BarnhartJun 15, 2022
Season 1 Review: If you enjoy sports documentaries, then you'll likely appreciate how deeply Players understands the template that makes those shows satisfying. The result is an accessible, enjoyable introduction to a huge industry that passes many of us by. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineSteven ScaifeJun 13, 2022
Season 1 Review: Players may not reach the comedic heights of American Vandal, but it most visibly follows in that show’s footsteps by taking its characters seriously, no matter how ridiculous their situation may be. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergJun 15, 2022
Season 1 Review: Players requires a general emotional investment to carry you through the long stretches when its tongue isn’t even in its topical cheek. Read full review
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