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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
16
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews
Mar 11, 2022
Season 1 Review:
How [Robyn (Dominique Fishback)] becomes Ptolemy’s caregiver, while important to the story, is less important to the series as a whole than the dynamic between Ms. Fishback and Mr. Jackson. Their pas de deux is a wonder all its own, something rare and exhilarating, an alchemical reaction of youth and experience, defiance and resignation, fragility and stone.
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Mar 11, 2022
Season 1 Review:
What feels so fresh—and so successful, thanks to stunning performances from Jackson and Fishback—is the boldness with which Mosley combines seemingly incompatible elements. He deftly weaves together the devastation that follows betrayal and the uplift of found family, science fiction and stark realism, character development and sociopolitical commentary.
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Mar 8, 2022
Season 1 Review:
Where the series shines is through its at times brutal, at times delicate realism. Through Ptolemy’s widened unseeing eyes, you can understand the pure terror his life must be every day. If you’ve ever been someone diagnosed with dementia, Jackson nails their mannerisms while also infusing his performance with a degree of empathy many of these patients rarely experience. ... Fishback’s quietly powerful take on Robyn is what makes Jackson’s performance so notable.
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The PlaylistMar 13, 2022
Season 1 Review:
What does Hilliard do when he is assigned with taking Ptolemy to the bank? What does Robyn do when she sees how much Ptolemy has stored away? This narrative focus becomes one of its more ambitious elements, matching Jackson’s dramatic range in bringing this story to life.
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Mar 11, 2022
Season 1 Review:
One might wonder if he could have slimmed the story down a bit, or if a couple more episodes would have provided room to roam. But there’s more than enough here to recommend. The interplay between Jackson and Fishback is as natural as can be, yielding an unlikely companionship based in love and trust. On a broader scale, this is a fully fleshed-out portrait of Black Americans.
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Mar 11, 2022
Season 1 Review:
It’s a slow burn as Mosley establishes Ptolemy’s world and allies, and sprinkles clues about a treasure Coydog steals from white sharecropper bosses. By the end of the third episode, you’re almost urging the creative team to hit the gas pedal. At the same time, it’s a joy to see Jackson taking a break from the high-metabolism MCU to disappear inside wigs and latex as doddering Ptolemy, snap into focus as a medicated Ptolemy, and even tackle the man in his prime years.
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Mar 11, 2022
Season 1 Review:
Stretched over six episodes, the series sometimes gets bogged down in repeating itself, and tacks on a few too many epilogues after a classic contesting-the-will sequence that would made for a most satisfying ending. Still, this is a richly written, wonderfully acted series with a heartfelt, searing, tender performance by Samuel L. Jackson that ranks among his very best.
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Mar 3, 2022
Season 1 Review:
Mosley took on much of the adaptation chores, and the scenes come to life when the characters — especially the ones at the center, played so vividly by Jackson and Fishback — converse and reflect in ways transcending functional dialogue. At its best “Ptolemy Grey” lets the audience know it’s listening to a writer with a singular ear for vernacular, and dramatic poetry. See it for Jackson and Fishback, in particular, and for what they can accomplish when plot takes a back seat to character.
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The GuardianMar 10, 2022
Season 1 Review:
It’s a lot – although the magical pill aspect is at least not dwelt on too heavily and allowed to add a full sci-fi vibe to the brew as well – and not all of it is worth it. ... But it is in many ways a career-best performance from Jackson (and from Fishback, though we must hope that hers is merely the first of many to come).
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IndieWireMar 1, 2022
Mar 11, 2022
Season 1 Review:
Samuel L. Jackson's considerable star power can't can't breathe life into The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, a slow-moving Apple TV+ limited series constrained by the disjointed nature of its plot. Just securing a project featuring Jackson (who produces as well as stars) is probably coup enough for the streaming service, but the marquee value doesn't overcome what turns out to be a slog as a viewing proposition.
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Mar 10, 2022
Season 1 Review:
As the story progresses, the treasure hunt and the murder mystery take up more and more time and attention, with diminishing payoffs. A series that started out a heartbreaker ends in a shrug. Last Days never drops to the level of boring — if nothing else, it’s always a pleasure to slip into the warm glow of Ptolemy and Robin’s friendship, or sit back and admire Jackson’s nuanced performance.
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