This American Life
SHOWTIME | Release Date: March 22, 2007
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
Season 1 Review: It's really kind of a glorious little miracle, a half-hour series of little pictures of simple, complex and unfamous Americans breathing everyday lives, with a twist of kookiness, while they search for the Meaning of Everything and The Big Picture. Read full review
100
People WeeklyTom Gliatto
Season 1 Review: The show falls prey to a faint preciousness in the voiceover narration from its correspondents and host Glass. They overarticulate the ironies instead of just letting you watch. Which you should do. Watch. [26 Mar 2007, p.37]
90
The New RepublicSacha Zimmerman
Season 1 Review: The haunting and sometimes mirthful tales that are the stock-and-trade of "This American Life" are not lost in imagery but heightened by it. Read full review
88
New York PostLinda Stasi
Season 1 Review: In their own bizarre way each episode is very American, very naive and very full of hope. Oh, yeah - and a lot of laughs, too. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Season 1 Review: This handsomely produced experimental series ought to please flexible fans. [30 Mar 2007, p.62]
80
Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart
Season 1 Review: “This American Life” on TV achieves the same contemplative mood as the radio show. And it has a striking spareness of imagery, much as “Life” on radio has a spareness of sound. Read full review
80
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 1 Review: The radio show is so much about voice and language and storytelling, I worried that the TV folks would mess it up. Luckily, the radio show's host, Ira Glass, hasn't allowed that to happen. Read full review
80
Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik
Season 1 Review: Its power radiates from the screen as forcefully as it does from the radio. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterRandee Dawn
Season 1 Review: "Life" makes the ordinary extraordinary and along the way makes the world seem wider, bigger and an eternally more interesting place to be. Read full review
80
NewsdayDiane Werts
Season 1 Review: They've translated the radio show's aural mosaic to the visual medium so effortlessly in this first season of six half-hours, we hope Showtime orders more of this life we all can recognize. Read full review
80
SalonHeather Havrilesky
Season 1 Review: "This American Life" features the same rich, rambling storytelling that makes the radio show so hypnotic, but it's enhanced by cinematography that's lovely and artful without distracting from the story lines or the tone of the show. Read full review
80
Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland
Season 1 Review: "This American Life" lost none of its authenticity in transition from radio to Showtime. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
Season 1 Review: The television version of "This American Life" does not ruin the fragile, hip beauty of the radio version. Glass and the team responsible for adding pictures to words have created a compelling television series. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: This TV version not only has a distinct, appealing look, it also retains the radio show's sound and personality. Read full review
70
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: It's a welcome addition to nonfiction television and a loyal friend to the radio show. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd
Season 1 Review: The show's attitudinal mix of the jaded and amazed, the shocked and amused, is supported by the production itself. Read full review
70
SlateTroy Patterson
Season 1 Review: It's an ambitious if occasionally pushy effort. Read full review
70
VarietyPhil Gallo
Season 1 Review: The selections in the first two episodes possess compelling strength, whimsy and ambiguity in both the stories and the characters, providing a solid transformation from radio to TV. Read full review
60
Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan
Season 1 Review: “This American Life” really begins to show its TV potential in episode three, when the show stops trying so hard to be perfect and lets its storytelling sprawl. Read full review
60
The New York TimesVirginia Heffernan
Season 1 Review: If “This American Life” is all like this [opening] segment, it will be an immaculate and historic documentary series, with or without the storytelling pretext. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 87 Hacks: Season 5
4 87 Industry: Season 4
5 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
6 85 The Beatles Anthology
7 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
8 85 Bait: Season 1
9 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
10 83 Lord of the Flies
11 83 Riot Women: Season 1
12 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
13 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
14 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
15 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
16 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
17 80 The Comeback: Season 3
18 80 The American Revolution
19 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
20 80 Dark Winds: Season 4
SEE ALL