Ripper Street: Season 1
Metascore
72 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
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  1. Kansas City Star
    Reviewed by: Sara Smith
    Feb 1, 2013
    80
    Ripper Street was clever enough not to hang its hat on the over-examined killings of the five Ripper victims, and clever fans of police procedurals will relish spending eight hours with cops who have to invent the crime-solving tools at their disposal.
  2. Zap2it (Inside the Box)
    Reviewed by: Laurel Brown
    Jan 22, 2013
    80
    It all works. Although Ripper Street does move at the slow pace characteristic of most British dramas, every scene and every line has meaning.
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    Jan 22, 2013
    80
    It is well-written and certainly well-acted, with plot and psychological twists as numerous and tantalizing as the streets on which they occur.
  4. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Jan 18, 2013
    80
    Ripper Street is mighty fine bloodsport.
  5. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    Jan 17, 2013
    80
    The series is gripping, nicely styled, and smartly written, with a solid leading performance by Matthew Macfadyen as Inspector Edmund Reid, the head of H Division.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    Jan 17, 2013
    80
    Ripper Street is a well-acted, well-written and compelling mystery series. And even better, there's no waiting around, wishing it would improve. It's alluring from the start.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    Jan 22, 2013
    75
    There's enough intrigue, suspense and interesting characters here to make Ripper Street a worthwhile viewing endeavor.
  8. Uncle Barky
    Reviewed by: Ed Bark
    Jan 18, 2013
    75
    Ripper Street is pretty ripping good for the most part.
  9. RedEye
    Reviewed by: Curt Wagner
    Jan 18, 2013
    75
    While "Copper" took some time to get into a groove, Ripper Street is riveting from the first cry of murder.
  10. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Jan 14, 2013
    75
    An entertainingly sinister dip in the cesspool of 19th century criminality. [21 Jan 2013]
    All this critic's reviews
  11. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Mike Hale
    Jan 18, 2013
    70
    Ripper Street is reasonably clever and sometimes even witty in its depictions of forward-thinking detectives pioneering the forensic methods and investigative procedures that will eventually become the grist for a thousand television shows.
  12. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    Jan 18, 2013
    70
    Ripper Street is decent enough entertainment that's most likely to appeal to fans of procedural crime dramas, viewers who gravitate toward CBS shows but don't mind wading through sometimes thick British accents.
  13. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Jan 17, 2013
    60
    It's just too bad a show paved with such an enticing premise doesn't get a little deeper under your skin.
  14. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    Jan 22, 2013
    58
    The overarching premise of the 15-episode season cracks and crumbles under the slightest scrutiny.
  15. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Jan 16, 2013
    50
    Ripper Street is a decent but not especially remarkable thriller about crime solving in Whitechapel immediately following Jack's reign of terror.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. adilwarraich
    7
    nice direction and production. there is blood but no suspense or mystery there. cast is good but dont compare it with sherlock... yes there is fun watching it but you wont stick to it longer.… Full Review »
  2. Cyberghost
    5
    A good show with interesting plot lines that keep you engaged and
    entertained. Though it's called Ripper Street we don't actually see
    Jack T    he Ripper but instead live in the overarching shadow of him,
    which quite frankly was a much better story line that simply having him
    run amuck, not only has that been done before but we all now how it
    ends.

    The series instead, depicts life in 19th Century Whitechapple, and does
    it very well, through the 8 episode season we are shown the hopes,
    fears, troubles, growths and grim realities of the time; everything
    from the development of science (and opposition against it by some) to
    the pestilence of Cholera. I'm not an expert of the age so I can't
    really say how accurate these depictions actually were but from my
    estimation they were quite true to the point.

    So now we have an interesting show during an interesting period, what
    we need now s interesting characters. Sadly we don't get them. The
    characters here are as stereotypical as they can come, and so are their
    personal story lines, which we see bits and pieces of throughout the
    season. Had the creates taken some more time and come up with complex,
    un-predictable characters he show might have evolved into a higher
    dimension, but non-the-less the characters we have are good enough for
    entertainment and makes the show fun to watch.

    (Season 1 review)    … Full Review »
  3. podaddy
    8
    Well acted, well written period piece police drama. Better than average, but certainly not on a par with the likes of Sherlock. With Ripper Street, Luther, The Hour and Sherlock, BBC America is perhaps second only to AMC for putting out quality shows.… Full Review »
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