The Riches
FX | Release Date: March 12, 2007
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
Season 1 Review: "The Riches" is both unique and intoxicating -- and plenty more. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm
Season 1 Review: The best new TV show of the 2006-07 season. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyClark Collis
Season 1 Review: Think Big Love-meets-Carnivale and you're in the ballpark, but The Riches boasts its own weird, violent, druggy, hilarious mix. [16 Mar 2007, p.63]
90
The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley
Season 1 Review: It’s so compelling it deserves to be a hit. Read full review
88
San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesCharlie McCollum
Season 1 Review: Monday's opening hour is a bit disjointed stylistically. But the individual pieces are so compelling that you're still going to be sucked into the saga. And the show gets far more consistent in future episodes. Read full review
88
People WeeklyTom Gliatto
Season 1 Review: [Driver's] tone gets under the skin. As does the show. [19 Mar 2007, p.39]
88
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: Though the overall tone is light, there's enough darkness in "The Riches," and enough depth in the performances, to make you care about these people - even when you don't totally buy the premise. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyGillian Flynn
Season 2 Review: The drama's strange coincidences and unlikely twists are boundless. But The Riches is like a skillful shell game: Even when you know you're being played, the dizzying machinations are irresistible. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyRobert Abele
Season 1 Review: This is a meaty show about the complex allure of easy wealth and the traps it sets for one’s personal morality. Read full review
80
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: Izzard is a great surprise in FX's "The Riches," and just one of this fascinating new series' unexpectedly soulful pleasures. Read full review
80
Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Season 1 Review: The Riches has the makings of a bracing, provocative series. Read full review
80
TimeJames Poniewozik
Season 1 Review: It's far-fetched. It's outlandish. You will think you are too smart to get suckered in by it, but give it a few minutes and you will be proved wrong. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
Season 1 Review: Lipkin demonstrates a keen eye for nuances of class and social structure and a unique perspective on how to attain the American dream. Read full review
80
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteTony Norman
Season 2 Review: Fans of The Riches can expect even more double-crossing, shady business deals, intimidation and moral compromise in the gated community of Eden Falls. It's the same game, only more of it. Read full review
80
Orlando SentinelStaff (Not Credited)
Season 2 Review: Stellar acting bolsters perceptive writing. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
Season 1 Review: The show's first three episodes don't always land their punches. But "The Riches" takes daring swings. And the acting, especially in Monday's debut, is as good as it gets on TV. Read full review
75
Detroit Free PressMike Duffy
Season 1 Review: Laced with profanity, amoral behavior and fine performances, "The Riches" adheres to its own maverick set of family drama values ... infused with secrets and lies, twisted laughs and lots of love. Read full review
75
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: The Riches most often treats this family and their mad attempt to steal a new identity with a delightfully light comic touch bolstered by an underpinning of yearning.... The show stumbles whenever it tries to become dark or serious. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
Season 2 Review: The Riches is gloriously inventive, daring and provocative, with excellent performances. Read full review
70
Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart
Season 1 Review: "The Riches" reminds me a bit of "Big Love" the first time I saw it. I wasn’t sure whether to like these people or despise them, whether I bought the premise or not. And yet, at the end of the hour, I wanted to see more. Read full review
70
Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan
Season 1 Review: The dangers for the mostly engrossing “Riches” is that it occasionally hits the “we’re stealing the American Dream” theme a little too hard, and it remains to be seen whether it will coast on the taut, engaging performances of Izzard and Driver. Read full review
70
Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin
Season 1 Review: Funny and intriguing. Read full review
70
Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik
Season 1 Review: Viewers who can get past the uncertain dialects and a few cartoonish supporting characters are in for a real treat. Read full review
70
Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan
Season 2 Review: Though the show can demonstrate narrative drive within particular episodes--the second episode of Season 2, for example, is moderately suspenseful--over the long haul. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
Season 2 Review: Season 2 features an expanded role--probably too greatly expanded--for Dale (Todd Stashwick), the dull-witted, violent villain and nemesis from Traveller days. Even so, Izzard and Driver remain a joy to watch in this odd but fascinating series that is derivative of nothing on TV. Read full review
70
San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesCharlie McCollum
Season 2 Review: The Riches is not a perfect show (the story's twists stretch the rules of plausibility every week), but it has something to say about such concepts as freedom and what constitutes a normal life. In addition, you won't find any better lead performances on television than those offered by Driver and Izzard. Read full review
63
New York PostLinda Stasi
Season 1 Review: Izzard and Driver are so good that you may be able to overlook a lot - like a plot to believe in. Read full review
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