Rizzoli & Isles
TNT | Release Date: July 12, 2010
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
9
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyJun 5, 2012
Season 3 Review: It works as light summer drama, with lots of great banter between the women, and it works as cop drama, since it has put both of them in very dangerous situations at regular intervals. Best of all, though, it keeps peeling away layers on both characters. Read full review
80
Zap2it (Inside the Box)Hanh Nguyen
Season 1 Review: Expect some equally strong language to reflect the harshness of the crimes, but enough charisma from the protagonists to keep the show from derailing into glorified grisliness. Read full review
75
New York PostMichael StarrJul 11, 2011
Season 2 Review: There's nothing earth-shattering about Rizzoli & Isles, but it's a pleasant, hour-long experience with interesting characters and above-average writing, especially in the exchanges between Jane and Maura. Read full review
75
People WeeklyTom GliattoJul 7, 2011
Season 2 Review: The show continues to be soft, captivating fun. [18 Jul 2011, p.36]
75
People WeeklyTom Gliatto
Season 1 Review: Their interaction is friendly, if mildly teasing, professional and catfight-free. This allows the show to have the relaxing, unchallenging pleasures of good fluff even when the premiere is actually going a bit heavy on the gore.
75
Boston HeraldMark A. Perigard
Season 1 Review: The good part involves just about any scene focusing on Angie Harmon ("Law & Order") as Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli. The flip side? Just about every scene that isn't centered on her, especially those involving Jane's best friend, medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander). Read full review
75
New York PostLinda Stasi
Season 1 Review: What I particularly like about this show (aside from the good chemistry between the leads) is that the women solve crimes the old-fashioned way. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker
Season 1 Review: With The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles, you're in the company of smart women who know how to laugh at themselves and close cases. Read full review
70
PopMattersLesley SmithJun 16, 2015
Season 6 Review: Even in the areas of its strength--the give-and-take between strong-minded friends, the camaraderie of colleagues, and the bonds of a multi-generational family—the show tends to probe lightly the critical issues it consistently raises. Read full review
70
Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin
Season 1 Review: Though it's intended to be a female buddy show in which she plays off Sasha Alexander's coolly uppercrust medical examiner Maura Isles, Harmon definitely gets the upper hand--at least in the pilot episode. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterRandee Dawn
Season 1 Review: It jolts along with humor, suspense, insight and a fair amount of oozing blood. Read full review
67
NewsdayVerne Gay
Season 1 Review: Mostly this show belongs to Harmon, once a key member of the "Law & Order" ensemble. She's likable and intriguing. That salvages an otherwise average cop show. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyJul 11, 2011
Season 2 Review: You can call Rizzoli & Isles glib and sometimes even silly, but you have to admit it's also fun. Read full review
60
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: The familiar show, which is set in Boston but too clearly filmed elsewhere, adds in some romantic intrigue, as both Harmon and Alexander appear to be interested in the same FBI agent (Billy Burke). But the dominant theme on Rizzoli & Isles, as on "The Closer,'' is fighting crime and not fighting tears. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: Rizzoli & Isles features a good dose of humor and a lean style of storytelling that's reflected in the fairly small core group with which we will apparently be working. Read full review
60
PopMattersCynthia Fuchs
Season 1 Review: Yes, Rizzoli & Isles is quick with cliches....[But] for all the stereotyping, it's hard to be mad at Angie Harmon. Read full review
60
Washington PostHank Stuever
Season 1 Review: It isn't brilliant television, but everyone in it seems to be giving it their all--even the corpses. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyKyle AndersonJun 25, 2013
Season 4 Review: Even though it's season 4, there's something alarmingly off about the chemistry between titular crime-solvers Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian Lowry
Season 1 Review: Aside from the lurid nature of the crimes and some salty language, though, Rizzoli & Isles is just what the title sounds like--a place for second-hand goods at reasonable prices. Read full review
50
The New York TimesGinia Bellafante
Season 1 Review: In the absence of an arcing narrative, the series wants us to accept as its mission of suspense the mystery of this crypto drag-king-meets-shopaholic friendship. Read full review
40
SlateTroy Patterson
Season 1 Review: The series' approach to violence against woman is the only complex thing about it. Otherwise, you cannot even call Rizzoli & Isles run of the mill, it being that mills usually run more smoothly. Read full review
37
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: Seldom has the byplay been as idiotic or annoying as it is on Rizzoli. Read full review
20
Deseret News
Season 1 Review: This derivative mish-mash apes countless TV series that have gone before. Badly. It's full of stereotypes and characters who are so fake they're flatter than your average low-budget cartoon. Read full review
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