Reaper
The CW | CW | Release Date: September 25, 2007
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
Season 1 Review: It's a lot of fun. It's funny. And stars Bret Harrison and Tyler Labine have better chemistry than most duos on TV. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
Season 1 Review: The writing and acting are hit out of the ballpark on this one, and that's not a vibe you pick up out of nowhere. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyGillian Flynn
Season 1 Review: Wise steals this, show, and his costars aren't easy prey. What's more, the dynamic is quite clever. [28 Sep 2007, p.94]
90
Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland
Season 1 Review: Besides being the funniest pilot, it has the best cast. Read full review
90
Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart
Season 1 Review: Reaper is remarkably well-paced and hilariously well-written. Read full review
90
Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall
Season 1 Review: The CW's Reaper and NBC's "Chuck," the two shows featuring the aforementioned Sam and, um, Chuck, are an unusual pairing in that they're not only both good--with ABC's "Pushing Daisies," they're the best new shows of the season. Read full review
88
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: Wise has been given a great chance to shine, and he makes the most of it, stealing scenes with such aplomb it may almost be a sin. Still, the show has to be carried by Harrison and Labine, and they seem up to the task. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyRobert Abele
Season 1 Review: Kevin Smith directs the pilot episode with his typically expert comic timing. But he also handles the dark action bits nicely. Because even though Reaper is generous with its humor, it’s not entirely wink-wink. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd
Season 1 Review: Tyler Labine makes a most excellent wacky bearded sidekick, and Rick Gonzalez and Valarie Rae Miller round out the Scooby Gang. Auteur of slackerdom Kevin Smith ("Clerks") directed the pilot, which maintains a nice fairy tale tone even as it stresses the banality of the infernal. Read full review
80
Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Season 1 Review: Wise's acting is the most awesome asset. Read full review
80
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray
Season 1 Review: Geek TV is really the stories of people who've had greatness, not geekiness, thrust upon them, mostly in the form of unrequested superpowers. It should probably disturb me, but somehow doesn't, that the best of these, the CW's Reaper. Read full review
80
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: All the details have color, and so do the characters, right down to Sam's guilt-ridden parents, with whom he still lives. And there are fleeting hints of drama in the scenario that will surely gain momentum and weight. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
Season 1 Review: Reaper is a fun show to watch but not to think about. The concept is imaginative, and the characters are enjoyable. The pilot is a hugely entertaining hour of TV. Read full review
80
NewsdayDiane Werts
Season 1 Review: It's all sharp and snappy. Read full review
80
VarietyBrian Lowry
Season 1 Review: In pulling these tried-and-true elements together, Smith and series creators Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters also garnish Reaper with several deft little touches--like pegging the Dept. of Motor Vehicles as a hiding-in-plain-sight portal to Hell, or the appropriate strains of Blue Oyster Cult's 'Don't Fear the Reaper.' Read full review
80
Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan
Season 1 Review: With its young, often winning cast and its sparky, humorous dialogue, Reaper pays homage to the memorable shows created by Joss Whedon. Read full review
80
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm
Season 1 Review: Reaper is right up there with the best new shows of the season, better, actually, than NBC's "Chuck" because it dares to be more radical. Read full review
80
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 1 Review: Wise is one lucky devil. And so are viewers who appreciate lighthearted, supernatural dramas. Read full review
80
The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley
Season 1 Review: Reaper is not at all grim; it’s actually quite rewarding. Read full review
80
Washington PostTom Shales
Season 1 Review: Reaper works on its own cleverly devilish level and proves one of the happier, snappier surprises of the season. Read full review
80
Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin
Season 1 Review: Reaper is a hilariously fractured commentary on Gen Y. Read full review
75
NewsdayVerne Gay
Season 2 Review: This doesn't pretend to be a deep show, but it's a pleasant diversion with a good cast, and really good (read: expensive) production values. Read full review
75
Detroit Free PressMike Duffy
Season 1 Review: With its sharp writing, wonderful cast and wacko spirit, Reaper is one helluva good time. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: If I sound too enthusiastic about a series that ends up, in the pilot, being a bit too obsessed with special effects, I apologize. The Devil made me do it. Or at least Ray Wise did Read full review
75
New York PostAdam Buckman
Season 1 Review: Of course, it's a ridiculous, far-fetched sce nario, but it works be cause the producers of Reaper never take their subject too seriously. Read full review
70
Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart
Season 2 Review: After a nine-month hiatus, one of the best new shows of last season returns from the undead with a bit more of the deviled edge that made it so great when it first emerged from the crypt in the fall of 2007. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicRandy Cordova
Season 1 Review: There are lots of laughs and thrills here, and just the occasional misstep: Someone, anyone, please get sidekick Tyler Labine to tone down the obnoxious Jack Black impression. Read full review
70
PopMattersMichael Abernethy
Season 1 Review: The series is essentially light-hearted: Sam is a sweet-natured superhero with a dust-buster. He may be working for the source of all evil, but one can’t help but cheer him on. Read full review
63
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 2 Review: Creatively, the show seems to be in pretty decent shape. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 2 Review: Reaper has a clear potential to be simply cartoonish, like a bad adaptation of an action comic. But it surprises you, sprinkling in enough human nuance to keep several decent character dramas percolating. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)John Leonard
Season 1 Review: Reaper is strictly for fans of movies like Superbad. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker
Season 2 Review: Back for its second season, Reaper has one thing left going for it: Ray Wise as the dapper Devil. Read full review
50
Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall
Season 2 Review: Reaper takes several steps back--and a few steps sideways--suggesting a drunken all-nighter may be in order, if it hasn't happened already. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan
Season 2 Review: It’s hard to invest much in Sam when his behavior is contradictory or gullible and when he seems downtrodden much of the time. Read full review
30
PopMattersTodd R. Ramlow
Season 2 Review: Set against Reaper‘s slackers and the largely limited actors who portray them, Wise will having you rooting for the Devil. Read full review
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