Ratched

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 18, 2020
Metascore
50

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 32
  3. Negative: 8 out of 32
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Where To Watch

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Critic Reviews

  1. Collider
    Reviewed by: Dean Taylor
    Sep 14, 2020
    83
    Every actor is dutifully committed, even if some of the characters are little more than broadly drawn cartoon characters, the stories are energetically told (even when some of the episodes are over an hour long) and the entire mood and atmosphere of the show is wholly enveloping. For something so bleak and macabre, Ratched really is a lot of fun.
  2. The Daily Beast
    Reviewed by: Kevin Fallon
    Sep 18, 2020
    80
    No creative or narrative decision in the show really makes sense, and everything is much more intense than it should be. Yet you can’t help but be riveted and swept up. There’s something almost accidentally spellbinding about it.
  3. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Lucy Mangan
    Sep 18, 2020
    80
    It is all the most excellent fun. Paulson conveys a fathomless darkness while appearing to do almost nothing. When moments of viciousness break her affectless surface, it is genuinely disquieting.
  5. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Malcolm Venable
    Sep 16, 2020
    80
    Ratched works very well as a moody, sensual thriller even if it's not so much an intellectual exploration.
  6. The Independent
    Reviewed by: Alexandra Pollard
    Sep 14, 2020
    80
    Ultimately, though, this is a thoughtful, moving examination of the repercussions of trauma, and a reclamation of queerness and femininity from a genre and source material that has treated both with contempt.
  7. Decider
    Reviewed by: Kayla Cobb
    Sep 14, 2020
    80
    The drama (all eight episodes were provided for review) never seems to settle on whether this corrupt and eccentric woman is the hero or the villain of her own story, the aggressor or the victim. Watching Sarah Paulson navigate those extremes is chilling. ... These inconsistencies work together to make Nurse Ratched more terrifying in her unpredictability. ... But where Ratched really shines is through its stylized love of gore.
  8. The Playlist
    Reviewed by: Andrew Crump
    Oct 5, 2020
    75
    The pleasures of “Ratched” are dulled by the constraints of IP maintenance. ... Still, it’s a credit to Romansky that “Ratched” remains watchable in spite of the conflict between inspiration and obligation.
  9. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    Sep 17, 2020
    70
    Through it all the performances of Paulson, Davis, Cynthia Nixon (as Paulson’s potential love interest) and Sophie Okonedo (as a mental hospital patient) keep “Ratched” watchable even as the quality droops under the weight of too much melodrama.
  10. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    Sep 17, 2020
    70
    “Ratched” is garish and gorgeous all at the same time; horrific and occasionally poetic; glamorous to an almost laughable degree; thrilling for a while and then puzzingly dull for stretches, only to become interesting all over again. The show is a fine and flawed example of who Murphy is and what he makes. You can’t help but be lured in by it.
  11. Paste Magazine
    Reviewed by: Lacy Baugher
    Sep 17, 2020
    64
    Not a great show by any stretch, because it does suffer from the same narrative bloat that plagues many of Murphy’s other series; there’s simply too much going on here for any one story to be fully satisfying. There’s something entertainingly bold about its vision, and the Crayola-bright world these characters inhabit is a fascinating one—almost despite itself. Ratched is kind of a mess, yes, but can be a compulsively watchable one.

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Most Discussed TV Season of 2020
67
#67 Most Shared TV Season of 2020

User Reviews

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User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 48 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 48
  3. Negative: 13 out of 48
  1. Ijon
    Sep 19, 2020
    0
    Masturbating priests and good lesbians.. All in 2 first epidoses... Another disgusting #LGBTNSDAP propaganda.
  2. CLos55
    Sep 20, 2020
    1
    horrible series it feels like ahs told these actors no way we are doing this. the actors decided to promote their ideals and attempt to shovehorrible series it feels like ahs told these actors no way we are doing this. the actors decided to promote their ideals and attempt to shove them down everyones throat with poor character direction that is masked by constant lgbqt that doesnt help to enhance the story or build the characters. a sad attempt to progress one flew over a cuckoo nests brillant writing.… Full Review »
  3. TVJerry
    Sep 19, 2020
    9
    Ryan Murphy has outdone himself in his latest over-the-top creation! This Netflix series imagines the origin story of the mean nurse from OneRyan Murphy has outdone himself in his latest over-the-top creation! This Netflix series imagines the origin story of the mean nurse from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Louise Fletcher’s Oscar-winning role). Sarah Paulson takes up the role and she’s wonderfully evil one minute and sweetly kind the next (depending on which side of her favor you fall). Her most virulent opponent is yet another hardware-inspired namesake Head Nurse Betsy Bucket, played by Judy Davis, who provides the most fun villain in the lineup of evil characters. Speaking of, Sharon Stone is doing her best Jessica Lange, but doesn’t really stand out. Then there’s the writing, which is a glorious mélange of film noir misdeeds and delectable melodrama. Speaking of music, it’s so prevelant that it becomes a character, accompanying every scene with a pounding pean to Bernard Herrmann. Finally, the ramped-up Technicolor art direction is spectacular, especially the gorgeously designed period costumes. This is trashy sensationalism crammed with sex, brutality and malevolence, but in the best possible way!… Full Review »
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