Rake (2014)
FOX | Release Date: January 23, 2014
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
14
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyJan 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: It could still be a hit, largely because of Kinnear. But it needs to pick up its game. Read full review
60
Denver PostJoanne OstrowJan 21, 2014
Season 1 Review: The likability of a lying, cheating, essentially egomaniacal criminal defense lawyer is a stretch in the first place. It takes a lot of grinning and tousling from Kinnear to make it work. Read full review
58
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardJan 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: There might be a good drama in Rake, but right now the jury is still out. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanJan 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: If you can’t love the rake in Keegan, then you sure can’t love the lawyer in him either (since it’s barely developed in the pilot). That leaves Rake as an overly familiar character study and an under-developed law procedural. Read full review
50
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayJan 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: I'm not entirely sure where Tolan, Kinnear and company are going with this, but I'm only interested if they're willing to go all in. Because a toothless rake is of no use at all. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandJan 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: In the early going, Kinnear is simply too stain-proof. His fizzy, boyish air makes Keegan's vices seem merely prankish and easily overlooked. Read full review
50
TimeJames PoniewozikJan 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: While tonight’s first episode of Rake (the only one given critics, besides an earlier version of the pilot that was remade since last spring) is--well, rakishly--amusing, it’s not really enough to give a sense of what kind of show this will be, and whether it’s worth sticking with. Read full review
50
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenJan 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: Mr. Kinnear certainly has the charm to play this rakish character, and the overstuffed pilot introduces a lot of characters who might help propel the series' stories in the future. But if "House" is the model, Rake is a somewhat stale successor. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonJan 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: Fox originally provided a different pilot for Rake, one that wasn't so lighthearted. (Really.) That episode will air later, after, the network hopes, we've come to love this bad boy despite his foibles. Read full review
50
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanJan 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: "He's a lawyer--but with a twist!" is not a formula that the big networks will ever stop trying to perfect. But the execution of that idea isn't quite up to par in the first episode of Rake. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushJan 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: Rake's uneven tone (which makes Ally McBeal seem grounded in reality) left me numb. Read full review
50
USA TodayRobert BiancoJan 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: Kinnear is a fine and immensely likable actor, and his wry smile and way with a line keep Keegan at least minimally sympathetic. They are not, however, enough to make him either interesting or believable. Read full review
40
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoFeb 20, 2014
Season 1 Review: [Greg Kinnear's] charming enough and funny enough to make it work. If only the writing can rise to his abilities. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Matt Zoller SeitzJan 23, 2014
Season 1 Review: Rake seems to believe he's fascinating, but the evidence does not persuade. Read full review
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