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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
4
Mixed:
9
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews
Dec 9, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Not only its most promising show to date but one that could serve as a template for future Apple TV+ shows. It’s a good-verging-on-great anthology series with storylines, writing, and casting that could be replicated again and again, allowing Apple to widen its lane while shrinking HBO’s. ... [Octavia Spencer and Aaron Paul] alone are worth the investment of eight hours of your time.
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Dec 5, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Spencer is compelling, but Poppy’s story works best when she’s consorting with her ex-flame, ex-detective Markus Knox (Mekhi Phifer), who provides her with some key breaks in the case. ... It’s enjoyable while you watch, but you don’t rush to return to it. It’s just fine—but it’s not essential TV that you need to pay for a streaming platform to enjoy.
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IndieWireDec 5, 2019
Season 1 Review:
It’s trying to be too many things at once: a murder whodunit, a social commentary piece, and an exploration of family bonds all in one. And while meshing genres and styles isn’t taboo, in this case, its lack of specificity renders the series disharmonious. Still, its biggest selling point is its cast, notably Spencer and Paul.
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Dec 4, 2019
Season 1 Review:
At a minimum, Truth Be Told is an entertaining watch that does hook the viewer. But it’s not likely to be the series that turns around the otherwise rocky deployment of Apple TV+ offerings. Truth be told, the podcast within the show might’ve been the better medium for this campy tale of thwarted redemption.
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Dec 4, 2019
Season 1 Review:
The cast is skilled. ... But “Truth Be Told” suffers from a wobbly tone, and seems to be several shows – family drama, prison drama, would-be “Serial” true-crime tale, etc. -- in one. ... “Truth Be Told” would have worked better by focusing on Poppy’s family, and losing the trendy, true-crime plot.
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TV Guide MagazineDec 9, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Sluggish. ... [Spencer is] miscast and overly serene. ... You know you're in trouble when the least fascinating character is the one driving the action. [9-22 Dec 2019, p.13]
The GuardianDec 6, 2019
Dec 5, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Replete with weak coincidences and dopey plotlines, I did not care at all if Paul's character was guilty or not, nor did I care who even killed this professor. (You literally learn almost nothing about him, anyway.) Instead, what occasionally thrilled me were the compelling family dynamics at play here, with prosperous Poppy returning home to the Bay Area — and her family's biker bar — after living an entire other life out on the East Coast. ... It's just too bad these nuanced relationships are stuck inside a mediocre murder mystery bound to a meaningless title.
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Dec 4, 2019
Season 1 Review:
The cast does the best it can with thin characters; Elizabeth Perkins brings engaging pathos to Warren’s cancer-stricken mom Melanie. Sadly, Truth Be Told doesn’t seem to have much to say on their plight that superior predecessors including Netflix’s hilariously sophomoric true-crime mockumentary American Vandal haven’t already covered. ... It marks another misstep for Apple TV+ because it’s so bland and forgettable.
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Dec 2, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Truth Be Told is not great. Somehow, it manages to be pedestrian and tedious and not as entertaining as it should be, despite all the talent involved and factors that should work in its favor. ... It’s trying to do too many things at once. But what really does the show in is its lack of specificity.
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Dec 4, 2019
Season 1 Review:
A show whose tone shifts chaotically should, at least, be interesting. Or it should be able to truly be about the things it’s about. ... [Poppy's] flaws — self-obsession, a righteous belief in her infallibility, inability to truly see others as anything besides characters in her story — become the show’s. ... A show that gets a lot very wrong.
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RogerEbert.comDec 5, 2019
Season 1 Review:
Its most egregious sin may be wasting an incredibly talented cast, who all get sucked into the quicksand of hackneyed dialogue and clichéd plotting. There’s not a single moment in the first three episodes that feels true or even interesting as a soap opera. The truth is that it’s one of the worst shows of the year on any network.
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