Sean Saves the World
NBC | Release Date: October 3, 2013
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
43
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
14
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Miami HeraldGlenn GarvinOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: Sean Saves the World is like a comedy cruise to self-discovery, with both Sean and his daughter learning of strengths and weaknesses they didn’t know they had, the process punctuated with keenly funny dialogue and precision timing. Read full review
75
New York PostMichael StarrOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: [Sean Hayes is] the consummate pro, with impeccable comedic timing, fluid verbal and physical dexterity--a nod to Ball’s slapstick shtick--and a tendency to let others around him share in the laughs. That’s all on display in Sean Saves the World. Read full review
60
Under The RadarChris TinkhamOct 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: It's more of a kindhearted family show--but it does need some kind of edge. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Matt Zoller SeitzOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: So, concept, story, dialogue: just okay. Cast: outstanding. Sean Saves the World is on my "wait and see" list for sure. Read full review
60
The New York TimesAlessandra StanleyOct 2, 2013
Season 1 Review: Sean is an older but only slightly more down-to-earth version of Jack, the impishly self-centered gay man Mr. Hayes played so well on “Will & Grace,” and that gives this otherwise commonplace sitcom its zest. Read full review
50
People WeeklyTom GliattoOct 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: It's meaningful that a gay dad with a teen daughter can be conventional--it's a just not great comedy. [14 Oct 2013, p.44]
50
Uncle BarkyEd BarkOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: For better or worse, Sean Saves the World is exactly what he wants it to be--an old school, joke-loaded, histrionic showcase for himself. Read full review
50
USA TodayRobert BiancoOct 2, 2013
Season 1 Review: The best part about this family comedy is, indeed, the family, especially when Hayes and Lavin are sharing the screen. The workplace, however, seems to exist in another world, where no one and nothing is at all amusing. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandOct 1, 2013
Season 1 Review: The good thing about Sean Saves the World is that it's an ensemble show. The bad thing about that for the show is that we're often happier to see the supporting characters onscreen than we are Sean, who is funny from time to time but whose constant state of frenzy gets tiresome. Read full review
42
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: Sean Saves the World actually left this viewer depressed about the health of network comedy. Read full review
42
Washington PostHank StueverSep 13, 2013
Season 1 Review: Nothing about Sean Saves the World is off-putting, but not much about it is welcoming either. Read full review
40
HollywoodChicago.comBrian TallericoOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: Sean Saves the World is a weird show in that it’s not aggressively bad. You won’t be rolling your eyes. It’s more just remarkably forgettable. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: A frantic, erratic pace that keeps it from really getting anywhere. Read full review
40
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: Hayes, like the character he played opposite Hilty last season as a guest star in "Smash," seems uncomfortable whenever he deviates from his preferred setting of over the top. But when everyone's over the top, it gets exhausting. Read full review
40
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: The shtick flies fast and furiously, but with only one decent joke for every 10 rote punch lines. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: Even with savvy veterans and a relatively fresh newcomer like Isler around him, little about Sean Saves the World will make most viewers keep coming back. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubEmily VanDerWerffOct 2, 2013
Season 1 Review: Sean Saves The World is almost completely devoid of laughs. Read full review
33
NewsdayVerne GayOct 2, 2013
Season 1 Review: The strange alt-reality of Sean Saves the World, where a hundred bits of TV past--floating aimlessly in our memories--have coalesced into a cultural artifact that feels as antediluvian as a Walkman. Read full review
30
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: The good news is that Hayes has been given a serviceable supporting ensemble.... The bad news is that Hayes isn't so much gay as he is neutered. And Sean Saves the World has the archaic look and feel of an '80s show. Read full review
30
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushOct 3, 2013
Season 1 Review: This isn't so much a comeback as a case of go away and try again. Read full review
30
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenOct 2, 2013
Season 1 Review: The show is so manic, particularly Mr. Hayes’ performance, that it’s clearly trying too hard--and painfully obvious set-up dialogue. Read full review
30
VarietyBrian LowrySep 30, 2013
Season 1 Review: There’s simply precious little here worth seeing. Read full review
20
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanSep 19, 2013
Season 1 Review: The rhythms, the "jokes" and the pace are all stiff and overwrought, and priority seems to be giving Sean Hayes a huge number of opportunities to mug for the camera. Read full review
10
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanOct 1, 2013
Season 1 Review: Basically, no cast has ever meshed less successfully than this one.... The situation set up for the comedy is all over the map and indecipherable, never more so than at work. The home-life scenes just have "Fake Sitcom" spray-painted all over them. Read full review
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