The Bronx Is Burning

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Season 1
  • Network: ESPN
  • Series Premiere Date: Jul 9, 2007
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15

Critic Reviews

  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    100
    Everyone is spectacular, even the secondary players like Leonard Armond Robinson as Mickey Rivers, who steals more scenes than bases, and Erik Jensen, who so underplays Munson that he's mesmerizing - and, most especially, Michael Rispoli, who plays Jimmy Breslin - or should I say becomes Breslin? Don't miss it. Just great.
  2. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Diane Werts
    80
    As well as New Yorkers know these three characters, it's amazing how quickly the real faces fade and the three actors here become their own "strong-willed people."
  3. San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa Times
    Reviewed by: Charlie McCollum
    80
    It is a gripping and explosively acted piece that involves the New York Yankees, the Son of Sam killer and the infamous 25-hour blackout that darkened all of New York City.
  5. Detroit Free Press
    Reviewed by: Mike Duffy
    75
    The most compelling storytelling usually involves the combative relationship between Steinbrenner and Martin.
  6. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Doug Elfman
    75
    If you enjoy inside baseball, it's an interesting dynamic to view, and it's made cohesive by solid efforts from the actors, scriptwriter James D. Solomon and director Jeremiah S. Chechik.
  7. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    75
    Once you accept the quiet rhythms and deliberate pace of The Bronx Is Burning, though, it begins to pay off.
  8. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    70
    The unsettling juxtaposition of Yankees fever with Son of Sam's reign of terror is intriguing, but could have used a stronger authorial voice to tie it together.... Still, even non-Yankees fans should enjoy this one.
  9. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Richard Sandomir
    70
    The Bronx Is Burning succeeds because of the mutually-assured-destruction brand of combustibility among its lead characters - there is something of “Barbarians at the Gate” in the gleeful madness of the Yankees plot - and because of the incidents that the writers and director choose to recreate.
  10. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Joanna Weiss
    70
    It's supposed to be a story of New York and its many demons, but it works best as a tale of loud, proud, surprisingly brittle men.

Awards & Rankings

44
#44 Best TV Season of 2007
89
#89 Most Discussed TV Season of 2007

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14
  1. ChampG.
    Jul 31, 2007
    9
    Very enjoyable watch. I did not follow the Yanks back in '77, but this series brings to life a part of baseball history. Two thumbs up.
  2. brentoni
    Jul 17, 2007
    8
    An entertaining show. Drama, history, and sport rolled into one.
  3. othos.
    Jul 13, 2007
    9
    As a lifelong Yankees fan until 1978, when Steinbrenner drove me to the Cubs, the first episode is a validation of my choice. Superbly acted As a lifelong Yankees fan until 1978, when Steinbrenner drove me to the Cubs, the first episode is a validation of my choice. Superbly acted by Turturro and Platt as the centers of the maelstrom, the debut left me eager to see the rest of the series. I think it was a good idea that the producers and director decided to go the HOOSIERS route with the rest of the actors, using athletes who are given limited lines rather than actors who don't move like ballplayers (see: Anthony Perkins in FEAR STRIKES OUT and Gary Cooper in PRIDE OF THE YANKEES… Full Review »
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