The Listener
NBC | CTV | Release Date: March 3, 2009
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
8
Negative:
4

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf Smith
Season 1 Review: The plots are complex enough to sustain mystery, and if the mean streets of Toronto aren’t all that scary, this is a good thing for a show that is trying not to shock, but to entertain. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesPaige Wiser
Season 1 Review: His light blue eyes are so piercing you may forget that his special skill isn't X-ray vision. But he's supported by writing and characters that may induce eye rolling. Read full review
58
NewsdayVerne Gay
Season 1 Review: In a word, The Listener is boring. Or, if you prefer alliteration, listless. Read full review
50
New York PostLinda Stasi
Season 1 Review: It's all dopey--and as believable as a telepathic paramedic, a supermodel detective and a partner who doesn't notice he's riding around with a psychic. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDaniel Carlson
Season 1 Review: Listener is a serviceable supernatural drama with legitimate narrative potential that's undercut by its visually bland presentation and geographically nonspecific execution. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker
Season 1 Review: This guy Toby the Listener wouldn't even qualify for NBC's Legion of Substitute Heroes. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: For the moment, it would be nice if the show could just make the present more compelling. Read full review
40
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray
Season 1 Review: The writers, while showing a certain lack of imagination in feeding Toby the voices of passers-by--no, it's unlikely that woman who passes you on the street, guys, is thinking what they think she's thinking--have at least invested their lead with a mildly intriguing backstory. Read full review
40
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 1 Review: Canadian actor Craig Olejnik sports choppy black hair and piercing blue eyes--the only standout attribute in NBC's The Listener, an otherwise generic procedural drama. Read full review
40
The New York Times
Season 1 Review: A co-production with the Canadian network CTV that is a ponderous exercise in the paranormal. Yes, here the science fiction is intentional, but The Listener is plagued by the same gloomy lack of urgency that afflicts “Flashpoint.” Read full review
30
VarietyBrian Lowry
Season 1 Review: Actually, it's really just more of a bore (bore ... bore). Read full review
30
Washington PostTom Shales
Season 1 Review: The premiere is filled with flaws that may well be endemic to the series, one of them being that the characters behave so stupidly that one loses sympathy for them. Read full review
30
Boston GlobeJoanna Weiss
Season 1 Review: A show so stunningly derivative that it feels a little bit insulting. Read full review
20
Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin
Season 1 Review: Chemistry is just one of the ingredients lacking in the Canadian-made The Listener, NBC's new drama about a psychic paramedic. Others include but are not limited to plot, dialogue and acting skill. Read full review
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