The Third Day

:

Season 1
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 14, 2020
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
Watch Now

Where To Watch

Buy on

Critic Reviews

  1. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Lucy Mangan
    Sep 15, 2020
    60
    It may work better if you parcel it out – maintaining, I would suggest, at least the once-traditional week between episodes – rather than binge-watching. That way you can revel in the atmosphere and enjoy the performances and the broad sweep of the thing without getting overwhelmed by the not-quite-crisp-enough plot details, underwhelmed by the various payoffs or distracted by the mounting absurdities.
  2. Collider
    Reviewed by: Allie Gemmill
    Sep 14, 2020
    58
    The Third Day is as lost and directionless as its characters. By the time you reach the end of the “Summer” section, you’re left with as many — if not more — questions as you have answers. You’ll feel slightly dazzled from its aesthetic pleasures, as it’s a show where the setting is as much as characters as the bodies that populate it, but your mileage may vary on how invested you feel by the time you get to the hurried, slightly sweaty second half to the final “Summer.”
  3. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Alan Sepinwall
    Sep 10, 2020
    50
    It’s a puzzle show, buoyed by some good acting and cinematography, but there’s not much there there.
  5. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Daniel Fienberg
    Sep 10, 2020
    50
    A structurally intriguing limited series, The Third Day takes that context and uses it as a flimsy foundation for what is basically a more polished TV remake of The Wicker Man. Although it's made fairly watchable by several strong star turns and some lovely visuals, the fiction in The Third Day proves far less interesting than the verifiable history, layering on one unsurprising genre twist after another with almost no real visceral impact.
  6. The Independent
    Reviewed by: Ed Power
    Sep 16, 2020
    40
    The problem is that the uncanny Wiccan hamlet, full of people in animal masks and weaponised Morris dancers, is a cliche that has already been flogged to death (and really cannot be presented with a straight face in the wake of League of Gentlemen). Law’s character, meanwhile, is too dull for us to care what he’s secretly up to. Fireworks may follow further down the line as the pagan festival kicks off in Osea. For now, though, this isn’t so much Burning Man in Essex as a prestige TV damp squib.

Awards & Rankings

99
#99 Best TV Season of 2020

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 14
  3. Negative: 2 out of 14
  1. geewah
    Jan 25, 2021
    5
    A series that doesn't really kick into gear until it's second half and even then it remains disappointing.
    It builds the atmosphere nicely,    A series that doesn't really kick into gear until it's second half and even then it remains disappointing.
    It builds the atmosphere nicely, but the plot comes across as a second rate Wickerman and leaves too many questions unanswered.
    One of the most disappointing shows of 2020.    … Full Review »
  2. shoulderoforion
    Sep 16, 2020
    5
    Knowing nothing about this going into the first episode within 10 minutes I figured out this is a Wickerman redux, english countryside oldKnowing nothing about this going into the first episode within 10 minutes I figured out this is a Wickerman redux, english countryside old celt/druid stuff, but it's achingly slow. The cast is jam packed with talent, but I'm not feeling it, might tune in to episode 2, might not.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »