The Ex List
CBS | Release Date: October 3, 2008
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
10
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
SlateTroy Patterson
Season 1 Review: We bailed after the first of these dudes entered the frame, jolted by his frankly cheesy display of torso--"infomercial abs" was the damning phrase. But, until that moment, The Ex List had commanded our full attention in a way that the previous shows hadn't. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesMisha Davenport
Season 1 Review: The show succeeds best when it focuses on its main plot. A subplot involving her best friend and an extreme bikini waxing is crude for an otherwise lighthearted and romantic show. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyGillian Flynn
Season 1 Review: The Ex List could be one of the more charming new shows of the fall. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterRay Richmond
Season 1 Review: The Ex List is one of those rare new season surprises that consistently charms straight out of the box, boasting a clever premise (borrowed from Israeli television) and a disarmingly appealing lead in Elizabeth Reaser (a recurring player on "Grey's Anatomy"). Read full review
75
New York PostLinda Stasi
Season 1 Review: The slightly-altered version that arrived for review more recently left me charmed. Read full review
42
NewsdayVerne Gay
Season 1 Review: The Ex List--based on an Israeli hit ("Mythological Ex"), with whiffs of "How I Met Your Mother" and "My Name Is Earl" - is a flat-out great idea for a TV series. But Ruggiero (who's since left the show) needed a strong partner to reign in her worst impulses, like a running gag about shaved genitalia. Read full review
80
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray
Season 1 Review: A sassy, slightly raunchy comedy about a serial dater who's told by a fortune teller that if she marries, it will be within a year--to a guy she's already met. Read full review
50
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 1 Review: Despite a poor job of establishing its characters and their relationships (wait, those two aren't a couple?), The Ex-List begins with a strong, romantic premise. Read full review
40
SalonHeather Havrilesky
Season 1 Review: The Ex List tries to pull off an impossible balancing act: We're supposed to believe that Bella is at once pathetic and admirable, hapless and perkily resilient. As a result, this scrounging-single fable is an unrealistic, clumsy, cringe-inducing mess. Read full review
50
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: Unfortunately, when the show wanders off to the personality-deprived supporting characters, it collapses. Read full review
70
VarietyPhil Gallo
Season 1 Review: Dialogue by Diane Ruggiero is sharply written and realistic, observational and unhurried. It remains to be seen, though, whether 9 p.m. Friday viewers are ready for the debate over Vivian's new Brazilian. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf Smith
Season 1 Review: There is enough lively (if sometimes explicit) dialogue and reliable sexual appeal in all this to keep intuitive male viewers interested. Read full review
40
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: There's probably a good, breezy romantic comedy somewhere inside The Ex List. But the premiere just made me cranky. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan
Season 1 Review: It’s more unfortunate when good actors are stranded in shows that don’t quite work, as is the case in The Ex List. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamara
Season 1 Review: Lust because something's almost unforgivably cute ("Holy hottie, Batman" is an actual line) doesn't mean it can't also be very good and very funny, which The Ex List is. Read full review
30
Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin
Season 1 Review: CBS' new comedy-drama The Ex List is a descent to the most profound levels of Chick Flick Hell, where the damned and those with Y chromosomes cry out in agony through all eternity. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: Bella, played by Elizabeth Reaser of "Grey's Anatomy," is pleasant, and viewers will appreciate how she works to keep urgency from devolving into desperation. But she's stuck in this guy-of-the-week plot that leaves little room to do anything but hope each guy has enough unique quirks so the jokes can change. Read full review
70
Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall
Season 1 Review: The Ex List has the kind of silly romantic comedy premise that makes you feel dumber just for hearing it, but the show itself is actually fairly smart and funny--for the time being, at least. Read full review
60
Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Season 1 Review: This slight but charming comedy, which debuts at 9 p.m. Friday, offers a good cast along with questionable dialogue and a dicey premise. Read full review
70
PopMattersMarisa Carroll
Season 1 Review: The supernatural premise underlying Bella’s quest may be fantastic, but the urgent desire to find a husband “before it’s too late” is unfortunately all too common. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
Season 1 Review: It stars Elizabeth Reaser ("Grey's Anatomy"), as Bella, who strikes the right balance of snide, seasoned relationship survivor and romantic hopeful. There's a winning cast, particularly Rachel Boston who plays Bella's sister and Amir Talai ("Campus Ladies") as one of Bella's male buddies. Read full review
70
The New York TimesGinia Bellafante
Season 1 Review: The Ex List doesn’t solicit analysis, and it has no ambition to be debated. And yet, or rather because of, this narrower vision it is about as charming an hour of television as anyone female could hope to stay home for. Read full review
80
TimeJames Poniewozik
Season 1 Review: This My Name Is Girl concept may be outlandish, but Ex List is also fresh and raunchily funny (there's a scene in the pilot comparing feminine waxing choices to historical figures--the "Hitler," the "Gandhi") and Reaser is winning and adorable. Read full review
40
Washington PostTom Shales
Season 1 Review: It has a promotable gimmick that could help it find a few fans--literally. If only the premise or the show were as bright as the light in the heroine's eyes. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 88 Rivals
4 87 Hacks: Season 5
5 87 Industry: Season 4
6 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
7 85 The Beatles Anthology
8 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
9 85 Bait: Season 1
10 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
11 83 Lord of the Flies
12 83 Riot Women: Season 1
13 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
14 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
15 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
16 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
17 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
18 80 The Comeback: Season 3
19 80 The American Revolution
20 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
SEE ALL