The Returned (2015)
A&E | Release Date: March 9, 2015
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Newark Star-LedgerVicki HymanMar 9, 2015
Season 1 Review: It's not a talky show; there's as much to be gleaned here in what is not said as what is. The moodiness of the production also goes a long way in helping us suspend our disbelief. Read full review
83
The Lincoln Journal StarJeff KorbelikMar 10, 2015
Season 1 Review: What Cuse and Tucker have done best is maintain the eerie tone and feel from the original. Read full review
83
The Detroit NewsTom LongMar 6, 2015
Season 1 Review: There are a lot of characters and talent involved here--Mary Elizabeth Winstead notably plays the bride who was left behind--but The Returned is very much a show propelled forward by its story and the questions it raises. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraMar 9, 2015
Season 1 Review: Though his [Carlton Cuse's] version is not quite as eerie and enigmatic as the French version, it's still pretty dang eerie and enigmatic, particularly for those watching the story unfold for the first time. Read full review
80
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMar 6, 2015
Season 1 Review: The final sequence in the premiere doesn’t quite work like it did in the original, and the small-town atmosphere of dread isn’t quite the same, but these are minor complaints for a surprisingly effective drama. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalDorothy RabinowitzMar 6, 2015
Season 1 Review: All told, a heavily crowded series, stuffed with characters and interwoven tales of vengeance, betrayal, murder--unyielding in its darkness, unfailing in its power to hold you in its grip. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushMar 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: An artfully engrossing remake. [9-16 Mar 2015, p.13]
75
The A.V. Club Alex McCownMar 9, 2015
Season 1 Review: For those who haven’t seen the source material, this will be a fun, exciting journey, and you can be assured that you are in capable, firmly non-French, hands. Read full review
75
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardMar 9, 2015
Season 1 Review: The cast mines genuine heartache in the mysterious. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyMelissa MaerzMar 6, 2015
Season 1 Review: As a mystery, it's still compelling. but not quite as deep. [13 Mar 2015, p.64]
75
Slant MagazineMatthew PolandMar 6, 2015
Season 1 Review: The Returned is little more than a nimble translation, but the material is strong enough to reward its staunch fidelity. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandMar 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: The critical success of the original “Returned,” as well as brainier zombie shows such as BBC America’s “In the Flesh,” has spawned other American knockoffs, such as ABC’s “Resurrection,” the kind of series that reminds us that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but only if it’s done as well as A&E’s The Returned. Read full review
70
Yahoo TVKen TuckerMar 9, 2015
Season 1 Review: Cuse and Tucker (the latter also worked on True Blood) do a good job of translating the deeply unsettling miracle at the heart of this show. Read full review
70
The OregonianKristi TurnquistMar 6, 2015
Season 1 Review: The Returned has the nightmarish quality of a ghost story, but could benefit from some of Norma Bates' frenzied energy. Read full review
70
VarietyBrian LowryMar 5, 2015
Season 1 Review: Ennenga (last seen in “Treme”), Wright and Pellegrino are in a way the show’s emotional linchpins, and they’re very good at capturing the mix of relief and confusion the situation elicits. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonMar 9, 2015
Season 1 Review: Slow and mournful, The Returned is interesting but not, in the early going, enormously compelling. Read full review
63
New York PostElisabeth VincentelliMar 9, 2015
Season 1 Review: Mood is key with a fantastical show like this one, but while the new series is far from terrible, it also feels a little soulless. This partly has to do with the cast, largely made up of journeyman actors with little individual presence. Read full review
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