Political Animals
USA | Release Date: July 15, 2012
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
12
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Denver PostJoanne OstrowJul 16, 2012
Season 1 Review: Think the Clintons meet "Dallas" in D.C. And that, for six episodes, may be enough. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Matt Zoller SeitzJul 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: Too much of Political Animals feels like good-enough-for-government-work drama, and I can't help believing it would have been more compelling, maybe genuinely subversive, if it had replaced some of the scenes that attack the show's main themes head-on with pick-axes, and substituted ones that showed the female characters simply doing their jobs, commanding more than reluctant respect from men. Read full review
60
SalonWilla PaskinJul 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: Political Animals may be super-fun, but it is also superficial. Read full review
60
TimeJames PoniewozikJul 12, 2012
Season 1 Review: Political Animals, an inconsistent, sometimes ludicrous, but also juicily fun political soap, is about something that ultimately makes for better TV: the idea of Hillary Clinton. Read full review
60
VarietyBrian LowryJul 12, 2012
Season 1 Review: No one associated with Political Animals needs to hide under the covers, exactly, but nothing here qualifies as a game-changer, either. Read full review
58
Uncle BarkyEd BarkJul 12, 2012
Season 1 Review: Sunday's 90-minute premiere makes for an unintended hoot, both ridiculous and often ridiculously watchable. Read full review
50
New York PostLinda StasiJul 12, 2012
Season 1 Review: The actors are great, but the show isn't. Read full review
50
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardJul 12, 2012
Season 1 Review: It's not a Comedy Central spoof, but it skews ridiculously close to one. Read full review
50
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayJul 12, 2012
Season 1 Review: This is more soap opera than satire, an intermittently entertaining but not exactly subtle look at the private and public lives of one extremely colorful family. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanJul 11, 2012
Season 1 Review: What Animals is trying to do is take The West Wing and turn it into Dallas. And if you don't like Dallas, that can be a real letdown. Read full review
40
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandJul 16, 2012
Season 1 Review: It would have been better served by focusing on the first word in its title, not the second. Read full review
40
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenJul 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: While it's hard to imagine that the show won't continue if it's a hit, Sunday's premiere marks an inauspicious debut that ignores the sound advice given to all writers: show, don't tell. Read full review
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