• Network: A&E
  • Series Premiere Date: Mar 9, 2015
Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 24
  2. Negative: 1 out of 24
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Critic Reviews

  1. Reviewed by: Vicki Hyman
    Mar 9, 2015
    91
    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.
  2. Reviewed by: Jeff Korbelik
    Mar 10, 2015
    83
    What Cuse and Tucker have done best is maintain the eerie tone and feel from the original.
  3. Reviewed by: Tom Long
    Mar 6, 2015
    83
    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.
  4. Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    Mar 9, 2015
    80
    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.
  5. Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Mar 6, 2015
    80
    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.
  6. Reviewed by: Dorothy Rabinowitz
    Mar 6, 2015
    80
    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.
  7. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Mar 5, 2015
    80
    An artfully engrossing remake. [9-16 Mar 2015, p.13]
  8. Reviewed by:  Alex McCown
    Mar 9, 2015
    75
    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.
  9. Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    Mar 9, 2015
    75
    The cast mines genuine heartache in the mysterious.
  10. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Melissa Maerz
    Mar 6, 2015
    75
    As a mystery, it's still compelling. but not quite as deep. [13 Mar 2015, p.64]
  11. Reviewed by: Matthew Poland
    Mar 6, 2015
    75
    The Returned is little more than a nimble translation, but the material is strong enough to reward its staunch fidelity.
  12. Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Mar 5, 2015
    75
    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.
  13. Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Mar 9, 2015
    70
    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.
  14. Reviewed by: Kristi Turnquist
    Mar 6, 2015
    70
    The Returned has the nightmarish quality of a ghost story, but could benefit from some of Norma Bates' frenzied energy.
  15. Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Mar 5, 2015
    70
    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.
  16. 63
    Slow and mournful, The Returned is interesting but not, in the early going, enormously compelling.
  17. Reviewed by: Elisabeth Vincentelli
    Mar 9, 2015
    63
    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.
User Score
6.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 60
  2. Negative: 16 out of 60
  1. Mar 11, 2015
    3
    Since there is another show already in the US, which borrowed heavily from the French Returned series then this seems to be a waste of timeSince there is another show already in the US, which borrowed heavily from the French Returned series then this seems to be a waste of time and money.

    I hate it when the US does this with shows, they pull the script out, replace the place and actors (many looking the same) and they make it for the US. These shows tend to fail as the scripts are written for another audience and overall they do not translate that well into the US market.
    Full Review »
  2. Mar 10, 2015
    5
    It's just a copy almost frame by frame of the french show. Surprisingly, Camille is played by an adult actress instead of a teenager (justIt's just a copy almost frame by frame of the french show. Surprisingly, Camille is played by an adult actress instead of a teenager (just because of the sex scene?). I didn't feel anything watching the 1st episode, while I was amazed by the entire original series. This remake is totally unnecessary. Full Review »
  3. Mar 11, 2015
    0
    Riding on the back of the awesome French series, this American remake is a poor carbon copy. Actors, settings, names (even french ones), andRiding on the back of the awesome French series, this American remake is a poor carbon copy. Actors, settings, names (even french ones), and costumes have been duplicated in an attempt to capture the quality of the original series. Although the excellent soundtrack by Mogwai has been replaced with generic crap. Also, the kid is nowhere near as creepy as french Victor. The very least the Americans could have done was try to make this series their own. Instead, this lazy recreation is what we've been handed. Full Review »