- Network: National Geographic
- Series Premiere Date: Sep 18, 2017
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Critic Reviews
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The balancing act required of The State was near-impossible--to create a deeper understanding of the lives of the men and women who join ISIS without either lionizing them or demonizing a whole religion. But the series, which airs in the U.S. on the National Geographic Channel over two nights on Monday and Tuesday, has somehow pulled it off.
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Though the plotting inevitably skews toward making every worst-case scenario come to pass, there's power in the odyssey of Shakira (Ony Uhiara), a single mom and doctor. [18 Sep - 1 Oct 2017, p.27]
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The State’s bigger flaw, however, is that it doesn’t clearly explain the motivations of each main character’s life-changing decision to join Islamic State. The series implies their need for direction, self-worth or belonging, but it’s not enough to justify such a drastic decision. ... The depiction of life inside of Islamic State, however, is believable--horrifyingly so.
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Unfortunately, The State is also four hours of turgid and predictable drama, with respectable performances from the cast of relative unknowns barely covering for the thinnest of characterizations and the flimsiest of narratives. I'll wholly grant that the program is frequently interesting and informative, but it's nearly as often laughably clunky.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 9
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Mixed: 2 out of 9
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Negative: 3 out of 9
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Sep 26, 2017
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Sep 20, 2017