The Swamp
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Aug 4, 2020
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7

Critic Reviews

  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Daniel Fienberg
    Aug 4, 2020
    60
    The final product plays as a showcase for Florida's Matt Gaetz. It's no surprise that Gaetz, whose greatest gift seems to be his capacity to absorb media attention, captivated The Swamp's editor, and there's something unquestionably entertaining about his brazen appetite for attention. But it means that The Swamp is only occasionally about the thing it insists that it's about.
  2. CNN
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Aug 3, 2020
    60
    The Swamp has an attention-grabbing title, but this HBO documentary -- built around extensive access to three Republican congressmen -- gets bogged down in too many side streams.
  3. The Daily Beast
    Reviewed by: Nick Schager
    Aug 3, 2020
    40
    A decidedly wishy-washy look. ... Despite routinely pricking Gaetz and company for behaving in ways that are diametrically opposed to their declared values, The Swamp still spends considerable energy lavishing fond attention on them. ... Only in interviews with Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig does The Swamp make a truly passionate case for the need for wide-scale lobbying reform.