Swingtown
CBS | Release Date: June 5, 2008
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
16
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
TimeJames Poniewozik
Season 1 Review: It's also, judging by the pilot, flawlessly art-directed, full of well-chosen period music and--for a drama about a country searching for its bearings in its bicentennial year--a lot of fun. Read full review
80
VarietyBrian Lowry
Season 1 Review: This series about suburban angst circa 1976 exhibits rare depth for the procedural-packed web, and includes plenty of nifty touches, from the pop-song score and "Boogie Nights" fashions to the first-rate cast. Read full review
70
SlateTroy Patterson
Season 1 Review: The relative tameness of Swingtown makes the unease it provokes more inviting: You tune in to see the bodies and stick around for the minds. Read full review
70
Washington PostTom Shales
Season 1 Review: It's rather a bold, retro step for CBS to attempt this kind of show in the era of reality television and domestic fights that appear to be actual and spontaneous rather than cooked up by a writer. But the airwaves are so choked with reality that a return to fantasy seems strangely refreshing and, ironically, even more realistic. Read full review
70
Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart
Season 1 Review: Once you get beyond the show’s homages, both to 1970s style and “Desperate Housewives,” this proves to be a groovy little summer soap opera. Read full review
63
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: The show itself, sad to say, is not done well enough to work. But it's not dull, and it's worth watching if only to try to figure out what CBS could have been thinking--beyond, "No one's going to confuse this with NCIS." Read full review
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