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Top Of The Lake

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 48 Critic Reviews

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81

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	Your Score
6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Ratings

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Top Of The Lake

Now Playing: Top Of The Lake

Top Of The Lake

Series Details & Credits

Sundance Channel | SundanceTV | Release Date: March 18, 2013

Summary: Detective Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss) returns to New Zealand to visit her sick mother only to be drawn into the investigation into the disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old (Jacqueline Joe).

Creator: Jane Campion

Genre(s): Drama, Movie/Mini-Series

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Stream On

Recent Episodes

tbd
S2:E2. The Loved One
Air Date: August 3, 2017
tbd
S2:E1. China Girl
Air Date: July 27, 2017

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

81

Positive:

40

Mixed:

6

Negative:

2

Critic Reviews

100

IndieWire David Ehrlich

May 26, 2017

Season 2 Review: China Girl is an even more nuanced, more primal, and more entertaining beast than the first season (or just about anything else that’s ever aired on television). It’s an overwhelmingly ambitious and unforgettably thoughtful piece of fiction that’s told with the lightest of touches ... and brought to life by a cast that lacks a single weak link. Read full review

100

San Francisco Chronicle

David Wiegand

Mar 18, 2013

Season 1 Review: Top of the Lake is Jane Campion and her cast at the top of their game. Read full review

91

TVLine

Dave Nemetz

Aug 21, 2017

Season 2 Review: The acting is tremendous across the board, as is the directing. Quiet and meditative throughout, China Girl is gorgeously photographed. Read full review

80

Philadelphia Daily News

Ellen Gray

Mar 18, 2013

Season 1 Review: If you've seen "The Killing," you may think you've already seen some version of the story that filmmaker Jane Campion is telling in the Sundance Channel's new miniseries, Top of the Lake, but I promise you, you haven't. Read full review

80

Collider Chris Cabin

Sep 8, 2017

Season 2 Review: Some of this symbolism can come off as rigid or obvious, to the point that Campion and Lee miss the unscripted messiness of human behavior, but it never dilutes the power of her style or the story itself. Read full review

75

New York Post

Robert Rorke

Sep 8, 2017

Season 2 Review: While the first two episodes of Top of the Lake focus on Robin’s complicated, unfortunate past, the clues in the murder story unfold very slowly--probably too slowly for American audiences--but when they finally do, the series, directed by Jane Campion (“The Piano”), picks up some steam. Read full review

30

The Atlantic

Sophie Gilbert

Sep 12, 2017

Season 2 Review: Set against this much more conventional backdrop, the holes in Campion’s detective story are clearer, but the story and the dialogue have been heightened to the point of absurdist theater, as if to compensate. ... The ending of the final episode points to a third installment of Top of the Lake, although at this point fans of the first season might be more inclined to pretend the second never happened. Read full review

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6.9

Negative:

0

User Reviews

8

Kuggz

Jun 6, 2020

Found this on Hulu randomly and got sucked in pretty quick because of the pure craziness along with Peter Mullan being absolutely terrifying in his role. Its strange and has its own pace but there aren't so many episodes you get sick of it like a typical Netlfix series. Elisabeth Moss has aFound this on Hulu randomly and got sucked in pretty quick because of the pure craziness along with Peter Mullan being absolutely terrifying in his role. Its strange and has its own pace but there aren't so many episodes you get sick of it like a typical Netlfix series. Elisabeth Moss has a tough time here coming across as a real New Zealander also the backstory is a little silly so 2 points docked but totally worth your time.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

5

bambony

Sep 15, 2019

Season 1 is engaging and suitably quirky but season 2 is a car crash. Many of the male characters are absurdly mysoginistic and the plot simply ridiculous particularly with regard to the impossible coincidences that clumsily attempt to engage us. Some good moments but must try harder

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

4

jdagogo

Feb 28, 2021

Let’s face it: Season 1 is probably an 8, but Season 2 is so completely inane at times, overproduced and muddled that in the end, my recommendation is to enjoy Season 1 and totally skip Season 2. I suspect the reason for this is that Jane Campion was likely much more involved in Season 1Let’s face it: Season 1 is probably an 8, but Season 2 is so completely inane at times, overproduced and muddled that in the end, my recommendation is to enjoy Season 1 and totally skip Season 2. I suspect the reason for this is that Jane Campion was likely much more involved in Season 1 than the second season. Season 1 is compelling for its great acting, writing and the subtleties of the direction. Elisabeth Moss is terrific and it’s a joy to watch her in 2021, with the reminder that this was made way back in 2012. Also the sparseness of Season 1 with New Zealand as a sometimes menacing backdrop is super interesting. Season 2 is just utter crap. Nicole Kidman adds some class, but her whole shtick becomes boring and then annoying. Elizabeth Moss does mostly well, but you have to wonder if the writers ever watched a police procedural! Sure, we can understand that she’s a flawed cop no prob, but for god’s sakes doesn’t she know anything about policing, self-defense or how to woman-handle the bad guys? It’s as if someone just gave her a badge and she had no idea what cops are supposed to do. . . Rarely, and just barely remembering that she’s a cop at the last moment. Season 2 also suffers from having a number of superfluous characters and story lines that either go nowhere or are just heavy-handed eye-rolling crap that in the end just leave you shaking your head wondering “whyTF did they do that?” Its sad, i binged thru Season 1 and liked it so much that i moved right into Season 2. By the end of Season 2, which thankfully they shortened to 6 episodes, having squeezed all they could and more from Moss. . .i was just annoyed with the whole thing.

Bottom Line: Season 1: watch and revel in it. Season 2: If you have hulu with adverts, don’t let yourself be exploited thru the dreck with Hulu’s bloated ad load. Not worth it!… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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Seasons & Episodes

81

Series Overview
Season 2

73
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: July 27, 2017
- tbd
  S2:E2. The Loved One
  Air Date: August 3, 2017
- tbd
  S2:E1. China Girl
  Air Date: July 27, 2017
Season 1

87
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: March 24, 2013