Close To Home

New York PostAdam Buckman

Women -- especially young mothers juggling responsibilities at home and the office — will find much with which to identify in the story of Annabeth.

USA TodayRobert Bianco

It's well cast, well executed and solidly competent across the board. But exciting, it's not.

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

Better than average.

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

The show isn't a terrific one, but its working-mom protagonist, and its element of "Blue Velvet"-style suburban creepiness, might well find a very receptive and loyal audience for this CBS drama.

People WeeklyTom Gliatto

Finnigan's performance dovetails perfectly with Close's neat if heavy- handed dramatic concept. [17 Oct 2005, p.39]

PopMattersCynthia Fuchs

[The show has] married the procedural to melodrama, with occasionally intriguing results.

Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland

Those still smarting over [Judging Amy's] cancellation may take a while to warm up to the way "Close to Home" wraps justice in a small fuzzy blanket.

VarietyBrian Lowry

"Close to Home" lives up and down to its title -- staying very close to what's worked for CBS before.

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

It's a contrived product, but the storytelling reveals the cases and their solutions nicely, if straightforwardly.

Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm

Close to Home is supposed to be playing on the dark-underbelly-of-the-burbs fascination supposedly stirred by Desperate Housewives. But it's basically just another lawyer/crime show with a mommy twist.

The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley

It is instructive to observe how working woman's guilt plays out in a postfeminist era when having it all is considered a privilege, not a right.

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

The trouble with this drama is that it doesn't veer much from the often dark tone of the other procedurals from the Bruckheimer TV factory.

Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin

What would otherwise be a tedious collection of working-mom and lawyer-show clichés is saved by an excellent cast.

Entertainment WeeklyAlynda Wheat

Home isn't a bad show--it's just bad-intentioned. [7 Oct 2005, p.64]

Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron

Finnigan, who was so right in NBC's loopy comedy "Committed," lacks the heft for the role of the no-nonsense prosecutor. Not that, as written, the role would be easy for anyone. It requires Annabeth to be a vigorous and energetic protagonist and, simultaneously, a weepy young mother with postpartum blues.

San Jose Mercury NewsCharlie McCollum

A pedestrian, predictable crime procedural.

NewsdayDiane Werts

This canned stew is further flavored with too-snappy comebacks, too-slick repartee and too-clever contrivances. Making it bearable are cast members who do somehow manage to seem like people next door.

Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd

A production that tends to make everything look artificial, that freezes the air between the characters and keeps them distant.

Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman

It can't be this much like glorified Lifetime every week, can it?

Detroit Free PressMike Duffy

Crusading criminal prosecutor Annabeth Chase... [is] the most irritating lead character on any new drama series this fall.