- Network: TNT
- Series Premiere Date: Aug 25, 2015
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Critic Reviews
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It strides the line between comfortable and bold with enough confidence to become charismatic.
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Morals is raw, interesting, intelligent, sometimes funny (sometimes not), violent (but not overly violent) and unlike anything on TV at the moment.
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It's the seamy, violent and enticing world of TNT's utterly riveting new 1960s cop drama Public Morals, a world so different than the one Hollywood usually shows you...that you almost expect Rod Serling to step out from behind a bush, warning that "you're traveling through another dimension..."
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It clicks, crackles and arrests attention with a blend of compromised cops, assorted criminals and homier family values.
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Burns gives us a good old-fashioned crime tale, just the kind of thing we need to end our summer.
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Public Morals gets going at the end of the pilot when one of the underbosses of the Irish mob is murdered, which sparks a war between various gangs, including the cops. But the action in this drama is there to serve the characters, who are always unique and engaging.
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A picaresque, briskly written and quickly captivating series that is neither afraid nor ashamed of entertaining its audience.
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Public Morals is engaging enough, with a jazzy pace, assured direction and a number of fine performances.
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The storytelling bounces quickly and seamlessly from vice cases (Burns' own father was a New York policeman) to family troubles (Muldoon's kid has run-ins with the nuns at school) to mobsters big and small. All the stories are connected, and the cast is universally great.
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Public Morals gets better as the activities of the Irish Mob become more ominous and the show represents an overall advance for TNT.
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Gloss aside, Morals can be impressive in its slow-burn storytelling, and scenes are often visually stunning. [21/28 Aug 2015, p.96]
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Even if subtlety isn’t going to be part of the equation, Burns makes up for it with his wiseguy humor, rapid-fire dialogue and a high volume of plot.
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Public Morals blends somewhat predictable plotting with decent character development and recognizable period, cultural flourishes.
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Heavy on atmosphere and light on content, Edward Burns’ Public Morals is an intriguing new TNT series about vice cops in the 1960s.... Nevertheless, if you make it past the rather pro forma pilot that spends the hour introducing characters, there’s an enjoyable crime saga being developed in Public Morals that suggests patience will be rewarded.
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Public Morals doesn’t yet feel like a top-tier cable drama, but it has the makings of a highly watchable one, and stands a cut above much of TNT’s lineup in terms of ambition.
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[Ed Burns is] not trying to reinvent the wheel, just trying to tell a good, gripping yarn in ten episodes. Based on the first four installments (all of which he helmed and authored), Burns has done pretty well.
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After a rather long walk down some shadowy alleys, Public Morals becomes a much more intense and traditional crime drama.
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Burns’ direction is choppy, except for his closing scenes, which are unexpectedly strong. He does know how to end an episode. If only he knew how to begin one.
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Public Morals is a handsome production that could benefit from more variety; half the scenes unfold in smoky saloons, and the washed-out cinematography favors browns and yellows to a distracting degree. Its story is engaging enough on a comfort-food level, but its themes are spoon-fed.
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One reason the show is great fun is Burns’ street-baroque dialogue. The characters really do talk about Palookaville. It all goes a little too far, though.... The overwriting keeps Public Morals from achieving the credibility level Burns is aiming for.
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Mr. Burns has created a show that is watchable.... but the lack of any rudimentary joy among any of the characters means there’s also no one to like, not during the early episodes.
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Public Morals is a mess.... [Working with Amblin Television and producers including Steven Spielberg] probably accounts for the show’s technical polish, but the thin and repetitive writing and the clumsy one-note direction--every scene plays at the same pace and volume, so that family dinners, squad-room arguments and murders seem indistinguishable--can’t be finessed.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 33 out of 50
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Mixed: 10 out of 50
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Negative: 7 out of 50
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Aug 28, 2015
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Aug 31, 2015
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Aug 26, 2015