The Escape Artist

:

Season 1
User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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User Reviews

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  1. katezoe
    Jul 7, 2014
    10
    Must see TV at its best. Main characters do a great job and the irony of the story is to good for words. Exciting, edge of your seat and smart. Have not seen a legal/crime show in quite a while that immediately grabbed your attention and did not let go.
  2. KimD
    Jun 18, 2014
    9
    This is a taut suspense driven character story-not just a normal procedural. It was a cat and mouse game that you weren't handed the antagonist's motives or background on plate-leaving you wondering what was next.
    The dark and gloomy landscape added to the atmosphere as well as the set design of minimalist modernistic living spaces juxtaposed to solitary cabin and council flats.
    David    This is a taut suspense driven character story-not just a normal procedural. It was a cat and mouse game that you weren't handed the antagonist's motives or background on plate-leaving you wondering what was next.
    The dark and gloomy landscape added to the atmosphere as well as the set design of minimalist modernistic living spaces juxtaposed to solitary cabin and council flats.
    David Tennant was outstanding.    … Expand
  3. klea0721
    Dec 7, 2014
    10
    One of the best courtroom dramas and accompanying personal dramas I've seen in years. All performances were outstanding and although the story was told in three distinct parts, the intensity of easy episode never let up, with a terrific hold your breath finale.
  4. jeremyp
    Jun 24, 2014
    7
    A taut series about a serial killer and the defense lawyers who let him loose, only this time the killer is let loose by the lawyer whose wife he ends up killing, and his biggest competitor for legal bragging rights then gets him off. The legal shenanigans are cynical and ludicrous but, hey this is a drama. In the end the Lawyer goes after the killer the old fashioned way and sets it upA taut series about a serial killer and the defense lawyers who let him loose, only this time the killer is let loose by the lawyer whose wife he ends up killing, and his biggest competitor for legal bragging rights then gets him off. The legal shenanigans are cynical and ludicrous but, hey this is a drama. In the end the Lawyer goes after the killer the old fashioned way and sets it up so he has the law on his side. The trials are silly, but serve to keep the pot boiling.… Expand
  5. joelgreenberg
    Mar 8, 2022
    10
    The Escape Artist is a real surprise, in the best way. What begins as fairly standard issue court drama, and it is well done, becomes a limited series as compelling as anything I've seen these past couple of years - and I've gobbled up more British crime and thriller programming than I'd ever thought likely.
    David Tennant is an actor with the widest range imaginable - and in this series    The Escape Artist is a real surprise, in the best way. What begins as fairly standard issue court drama, and it is well done, becomes a limited series as compelling as anything I've seen these past couple of years - and I've gobbled up more British crime and thriller programming than I'd ever thought likely.
    David Tennant is an actor with the widest range imaginable - and in this series his capacity to play shock, terror and comedy are given a workout. The writing and shaping of the episodes make this series unique, in that there's no guessing where the story is going.
    The only misstep in the writing is the final climax between the two male characters - there is an undeniable feeling that the writer couldn't quite get to where he needed to get to without imposing an unlikely series of events - but after that, happily, he provides a punchline that is as hilarious as it is totally satisfying. Watch it.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

60
#60 Best TV Season of 2013
71
#71 Most Shared TV Season of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Jun 20, 2014
    80
    Who the real animal is here remains to be seen, with surprising and mostly satisfying fallout in this taut legal thriller.
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  2. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Dorothy Rabinowitz
    Jun 18, 2014
    80
    It succeeds despite its little kinks in logic, mesmerizes despite the fact that we're moved to pause periodically to marvel at a plot line that requires an audience to believe that the sharpest-witted characters can be oblivious to the screaming-in-neon signs of disaster lying just ahead.
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  3. Denver Post
    Reviewed by: Joanne Ostrow
    Jun 18, 2014
    80
    While the plot rests a tad heavily on a couple of wild coincidences, writer David Wolstencroft ("MI-5") has constructed an interesting tangle of smart dialogue and credible characters to put across a rather cynical view of lawyers and law.
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