United States of Tara: Season 1

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 81 Ratings

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7.9

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7.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 81 Ratings

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Season Details & Credits

SHOWTIME | Season Premiere Date: January 18, 2009

Starring: John Corbett, Rosemarie DeWitt, Keir Gilchrist

Summary: Tara (Toni Collette) and her family try to cope with her dissociative identity disorder (formally called multiple personality).

Creator: Diablo Cody

Genre(s): Comedy, Drama

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Season 1 Episodes

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S1:E12. Miracle
Air Date: April 5, 2009
tbd
S1:E11. Snow
Air Date: March 29, 2009
tbd
S1:E10. Betrayal
Air Date: March 22, 2009

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Verne Gay

It's smartly written; clinically interesting (Why is Tara this way?), and maybe even a metaphor for the challenges all women face. Read full review

Rob Owen

As entertainment, United States of Tara succeeds through humor, vivid characters and a stunning performance by Collette, who disappears into the roles of Tara's alters. Read full review

Heather Havrilesky

The high-caliber storytelling is what separates United States of Tara from just another kooky romp of a dramedy, teetering precariously on a superficial premise. Read full review

Brian Lowry

As the show progresses, the stronger moments indicate that Showtime has a more durable commodity here than just the sales pitch for "Sybil: The Series." That's in part because the producers have done an exceptional job of casting beyond the central roles. Read full review

James Poniewozik

Tara has the potential to be a great comedy about identity, but it needs to be less self-conscious about its strangeness. Read full review

David Hinckley

United States of Tara, which features Toni Collette as the title character and whose executive producers include Steven Spielberg, takes a riskier tack, giving the story a wide vein of comedy. In many ways, they pull it off. Read full review

Linda Stasi

The series from Academy Award-winning "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody and Steven Spielberg smacks of smugness and self-congratulatory cleverness. Read full review

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User Score

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7.9

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User Reviews

ZachE

Jan 19, 2009

One of the best shows I have seen in a long while!

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JuneBug

Jun 13, 2009

the writing is genius. The maybe (ofcourse) gay son could have been great but I doubt any gay or bisexual can relate. It was a miss at a great possibility to deal with the mothers problems and the sons problems. But its still a show that will grow into a classic.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

AlexioF

Nov 30, 2009

This show might take a few episodes to grow on you but is extremely well written and addictive. It has some of the best lines I've ever heard come out of the mouths of any TV character ever.

2 of 2 users found this helpful

EthanP.

Jan 19, 2009

Saying it's not a funny show is one thing. Maybe it won't make you laugh. But if you write that it *shouldn't* be funny because it's about a serious issue, you're making a case for a depressing, drama-only landscape of TV. For me, the first few minutes of the pilot Saying it's not a funny show is one thing. Maybe it won't make you laugh. But if you write that it *shouldn't* be funny because it's about a serious issue, you're making a case for a depressing, drama-only landscape of TV. For me, the first few minutes of the pilot show this won't be a realistic show except in subtext. Even then, it'll inevitably woven loosely and graze lightly on The Female Condition. More importantly, it'll be crass, wrong, well acted, well written, and escapist, And so it could just keep us from blowing our brains out in 2009. Barring an early shark-jumping event, it's going to be totally awesome. (And I was so ready to cancel Showtime.)… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JennetP.

Jan 20, 2009

Better order up some coffee and doughnuts; the jury's gonna be out for a while. In an era of stultifying imitation (how many CSI's are there, again?), it's hard not to celebrate a show with such an original premise. Plucking a serious psychiatric disorder from the usual Better order up some coffee and doughnuts; the jury's gonna be out for a while. In an era of stultifying imitation (how many CSI's are there, again?), it's hard not to celebrate a show with such an original premise. Plucking a serious psychiatric disorder from the usual movie-of-the-week format and exploring its comic dimensions, not to mention its social and political resonances, is a bold move that deserves cheers and support. I just wish I liked the results more. I'm going to have to disagree with the critics dazzled by Toni Colette's performance; I find it hammy and overwrought--and way too dependent on costume changes. All that twisty-body look-at-my-thong stuff she does as a supposed 15-year-old is more characteristic of a 40-year-old who has gone to a bar to get laid but has only gotten drunk and desperate. And the alters themselves are stereotypes, which doesn't help her performances. Colette should take a look at Sally Field's chilling transformations in "Sibyl," occasionally managed with just a shift in facial expression. If she could bring that kind of subtlety to the show, it would be greatly improved. In addition, having cheered the show's avoidance of melodrama, I'm hoping its tone will grow more complex still. I'd like to see more darkness and desperation amid the fun. So far, it's the children who best register the tension between levity and horror, as one moment the existence of the alters lets them get away with a scam, while the next moment it pulls the earth out from under them. Their dad, on the other hand, is pretty one-dimensional, so far. I keep waiting for John Corbett play someone other than Handsome Q. Laidback, but he's showing no sign of weariness with the role. Nonetheless, I'm interested enough to keep watching, and I hope I'll be back soon to change my rating to a "10."… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

cccc

Jan 26, 2009

The show is entertaining, and unique, as to whether it is accurate / politically correct is another story. It may offend some, but personally I am an not offended. Overall and find it humorous and interesting.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Camillozzi

Oct 20, 2013

United States of Tara tem uma grande premissa, e só. O problema que este drama não engraçado, nem triste o que o torna desinteressante apesar de ter em seus créditos o todo poderoso Spilberg.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SEE ALL 24 REVIEWS

Seasons & Episodes

72

Series Overview
Season 3

84
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: March 28, 2011
Season 2

79
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: March 22, 2010
Season 1

67
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: January 18, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E12. Miracle
  Air Date: April 5, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E11. Snow
  Air Date: March 29, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E10. Betrayal
  Air Date: March 22, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E9. Possibility
  Air Date: March 15, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E8. Abundance
  Air Date: March 8, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E7. Alterations
  Air Date: March 1, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E6. Transition
  Air Date: February 22, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E5. Revolution
  Air Date: February 15, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E4. Inspiration
  Air Date: February 8, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E3. Work
  Air Date: February 1, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E2. Aftermath
  Air Date: January 25, 2009
- tbd
  S1:E1. Pilot
  Air Date: January 18, 2009