The Divide

:

Season 1
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
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Critic Reviews

  1. Slate
    Reviewed by: Willa Paskin
    Jul 25, 2014
    80
    All the pieces are here, not just for a real potboiler, but a satisfying character piece, the sort of show that can flood my living room anytime.
  2. Time
    Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    Jul 16, 2014
    80
    There’s a certain amount of melodrama in the premiere (which is all that was previewed for critics), but the beginning fits a fair amount of nuance into a package that could have been a soapbox. Ireland in particular gives Christine fine shading, and the way that race plays into the story--and into Adam’s career ambitions--feels more natural than engineered.
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    Jul 16, 2014
    80
    The Divide is a tense and thoughtful drama, with what promise to be complex characters and at least one breakout performance.
  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Alessandra Stanley
    Jul 15, 2014
    80
    It is a smart, intense thriller inspired by the Innocence Project.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Allison Keene
    Jul 15, 2014
    80
    The series, which moves along at an engrossing clip, and never allows its characters easy outs, clearly has aspirations to break out of legal-thriller and activist-centric conventions, and should appeal to crime fans as well as those who enjoy a novelistic approach to television.
  7. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: David Hiltbrand
    Jul 15, 2014
    80
    The leads are extraordinary. Ireland brings a nervy and riveting conviction to the role of the advocate. For Gupton (NBC's Prime Suspect), this is a charismatic, career-making role, and the most potent inducement to watch The Divide.
  8. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Jul 15, 2014
    75
    The strength of the show is that it reflects the truth that the justice system was created and is administered by men and women, who have complicated thoughts and points of view, and who may mean well, or be blinded by their own frailty and ambition.
  9. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    Jul 14, 2014
    70
    It’s not perfect--the pace is a bit plodding at times,; some characters hew a little too close to types--but overall The Divide is an engaging endeavor.
  10. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    Jul 15, 2014
    50
    The actors aren’t bad at all, but the script seems to block them from deepening their performances and coloring in the gray along the way.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Jul 15, 2014
    50
    There’s no nice way to say the leads simply aren’t especially compelling, which might help better sell this otherwise familiar tale that hinges on a central mystery built around a death-penalty case.