United States of Tara

:

Season 1
  • Network: SHOWTIME
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 18, 2009
Season #: 3, 2, 1
Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
Watch Now

Where To Watch

Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

  1. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Nancy DeWolf Smith
    30
    Perhaps Tara will, over time, find something interesting to say. Perhaps it will be about the trauma that presumably led to the split in Tara's personality. Right now, however, what makes the show so painful is the abuse of her children, inflicted by Tara both in and out of split mode, and abetted by her pathologically laid-back husband.
  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    25
    The series from Academy Award-winning "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody and Steven Spielberg smacks of smugness and self-congratulatory cleverness.

Awards & Rankings

45
#45 Best TV Season of 2009
55
#55 Most Discussed TV Season of 2009
47
#47 Most Shared TV Season of 2009

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 81 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 81
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 81
  3. Negative: 8 out of 81
  1. AlexioF
    Nov 30, 2009
    10
    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 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.… Full Review »
  2. JennetP.
    Jan 20, 2009
    7
    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 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."… Full Review »
  3. Camillozzi
    Oct 20, 2013
    1
    United States of Tara tem uma grande premissa, e só. O problema que este drama não engraçado, nem triste o que o torna desinteressanteUnited 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.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »