The Casual Vacancy

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Season 1
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 5 out of 16

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User Reviews

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  1. Knighthawk81
    Apr 30, 2015
    5
    When you hear a story is based on a novel by J.K. Rowling, you can't help but think of "Harry Potter." What set that apart wasn't just the magic, it was the building of worlds and characters. By comparison, "The Casual Vacancy" is hollow. It's about the untimely death of a man in a small town, and the squabble about who will replace him on the town council. The first two parts aired lastWhen you hear a story is based on a novel by J.K. Rowling, you can't help but think of "Harry Potter." What set that apart wasn't just the magic, it was the building of worlds and characters. By comparison, "The Casual Vacancy" is hollow. It's about the untimely death of a man in a small town, and the squabble about who will replace him on the town council. The first two parts aired last night, and by the end of the first hour it was still unclear who these people are and why we should really care, and that's a problem.… Expand
  2. GinaK
    May 3, 2015
    8
    To my surprise, I enjoyed this miniseries very much. I didn't intend to, but I binged on it last night and was never bored once. Perhaps this was because of the superlative acting, especially by Julia McKenzie. I agree that the story did not have a lot of charm, like many of the shows on Masterpiece theater, but rather gave a look at what village life is really like in Britain where theyTo my surprise, I enjoyed this miniseries very much. I didn't intend to, but I binged on it last night and was never bored once. Perhaps this was because of the superlative acting, especially by Julia McKenzie. I agree that the story did not have a lot of charm, like many of the shows on Masterpiece theater, but rather gave a look at what village life is really like in Britain where they wrestle with social issues just like we do in the States, but which you will never find even hinted at on Midsomer Murders. The entire cast and crew (director, screenwriter, etc.) did a great job making Rowling's characters come alive. I didn't read the original novel, which I believe is a satire, but this production seemed more human comedy and serious than satiric.… Expand
  3. Cmpr
    May 9, 2015
    0
    I quite enjoyed the book but the HBO adaptation missed the whole point of the book. It had a great cast but the characters could have had so much more depth. It seems it was a poor choice to condense this into a three hour series. A longer series would have allowed more of the original story to emerge.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Apr 30, 2015
    63
    Every element that doesn’t quite work in The Casual Vacancy is offset by a legitimate reason to check it out, at least until the muddled ending.
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  2. Slate
    Reviewed by: Katy Waldman
    Apr 30, 2015
    70
    I appreciated the miniseries’ willingness to reach beyond moral satire. There are glimmers of big cosmic tragedy in this Vacancy, when the camera swings away from two characters arguing (or hooking up) in order to highlight some mythic element in the landscape.
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  3. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Margaret Lyons
    Apr 29, 2015
    50
    The performances are fine, the story lines appropriately interwoven. Everything is totally competent.... [But] the details are the story, and simplifying them and sanding them down leaves Vacancy with a real dull streak.
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