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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed shows.

In Treatment

EMAILPRINTSERIES: HBO, Weekdays 9:30p (30 minutes)

In Treatment
70
9.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 137 votes
Read user comments
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Show Info

Genre(s): Drama

Created By: Hagai Levi

First Air Date: January 28, 2008

Summary

Starring Gabriel Byrne, Blair Underwood, Dianne Wiest, Josh Charles, Embeth Davidtz, Melissa George, Mia Wasikowska, and Michelle Forbes

The remake of a hit Israeli show airing 5 days a week looks into therapist Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne) practice along with his own sessions with a psychologist.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman

In Treatment is exhilarating.

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90

Wall Street JournalDorothy Rabinowitz

Its capacity to maintain an unyielding grip on your attention becomes similarly evident fast, as does one's strong sense that that grip isn't going to weaken anytime soon.

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88

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

In Treatment feels neither soapy nor formulaic, because of the intensity with which it's presented.

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83

Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker

It all makes for lots of great soapy intrigue, and Byrne makes you believe he can solve everyone's problems. Except his own.

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80

Hollywood ReporterRay Richmond

The performances of the players are so uniformly terrific that you could do worse than to bring these deeply flawed characters into your living room on a regular basis, as this is a series for which TiVo was invented if ever there was one.

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80

Los Angeles TimesMary McNamara

Cleverly conceived, it boasts a star-studded cast (Gabriel Byrne, Dianne Wiest, Blair Underwood) who achieve, at times, theatrical transcendence.

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80

San Jose Mercury NewsCharlie McCollum

It's an engaging series that's definitely worth at least a trial spin.

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80

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

If you've been wondering about the art of series-TV writing, and how potent and resonant it truly can be, you need look no further than HBO's extraordinary new In Treatment.

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80

NewsdayDiane Werts

Like a series of one-act two-handers--stage plays where just a pair of actors face off--this sneaky little gem steadily strips away its therapy patients' emotional defenses and excuses, exposing the raw fears and paralyzing reactions beneath.

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80

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

If you like shrink-oriented, smartly written TV, In Treatment (Monday-Friday, 8:30 p.m., HBO) just might get you through the next few weeks with your sanity intact.

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80

Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall

You get out what you put into it--even in the episodes that are weaker, I was rarely bored--and it's a consistent scripted oasis in a sea of shows where people take lie detector tests on camera.

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80

The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley

This show is smart and rigorous, with a concentration that bores deep without growing dull.

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80

Washington PostTom Shales

It isn't high literature nor even perhaps high television, but In Treatment does have a welcome, and occasionally riveting, pulpy streak, perhaps inevitable with its promise of peeks behind doors that usually remain closed.

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75

New York PostLinda Stasi

Some half-hour segments work spectacularly well and some don't. Like real life, I guess. But even the ones that don't work so well are very interesting.

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70

Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray

Though I took a strong dislike to tonight's patient, Laura--and was more than casually interested in no one but Wednesday's patient, Sophie--I've somehow made it through 23 episodes so far, and found something in each that advances the storyline.

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70

SalonHeather Havrilesky

The first episode of this show will probably make you roll your eyes and beg the gods for mercy. Don't give up, though, because In Treatment is sharp and unique and worth the effort.

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70

LA WeeklyRobert Abele

Oddly enough, as much as I like In Treatment and its theatrically deft interplays, it doesn't get off to a great start with its Monday patient.

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70

TimeJames Poniewozik

The writing is uniformly strong and Byrne excellent not only at reading Paul's dialogue but conveying what he's withholding--his true feelings about his patients, his inner turmoil over his disintegrating home life. But the storylines vary wildly from riveting to tedious.

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60

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

In Treatment is fascinating TV, but it's not a pleasant experience. Watching these therapy sessions is akin to eating your TV broccoli.

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50

VarietyBrian Lowry

In Treatment's intensity does build as the weeks progress, but it's never completely absorbing, and you wonder how many viewers will commit to such a demanding regimen even with multiple plays to catch up on missed half-hours.

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50

USA TodayRobert Bianco

Even at its sporadic best, In Treatment comes across as no more than an actor's exercise, one likely to be best remembered for providing future acting students with a large supply of two-character scenes for class projects.

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40

The New YorkerNancy Franklin

In Treatment, while offering viewers a seemingly intimate look at this process, doesn’t capture the emotional mise en scène: the characters on the show have all too easy a time expressing themselves, and the element of suspense is mostly absent.

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40

TV GuideMatt Roush

The gimmick's in the scheduling of this tediously claustrophobic though sometimes searing half-hour drama, set almost entirely in a psychotherapist’s office.

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30

SlateTroy Patterson

Paul Weston's (Byrne) nonadventures straddle the realms of the scarcely credible and the incredibly boring.

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25

San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman

The writing is forced and thin, some of the acting stagey, most of the characters unlikable and - the show-killer quality that HBO execs apparently failed to see--profoundly boring.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this show is 9.6 (out of 10) based on 137 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

rowan c gave it a10:
Ditto - it's addictive as a practicing therapist of 10 years, I was afraid to watch, though I like Gabriel Byrne. I was afraid that it would roll out familiar if inaccurate stereotypes of therapy. It does visit those areas, but somehow does so in a subtle and realistic way.

Diane G gave it a10:
This show is amazing in its reproduction of what therapy is really like and in its depictions of what lies underneath the superficial and day to day personnas we show to the world. It moves a bit faster than reality but that bit of poetic license is perfectly acceptable. I hope and believe that this show will do more to advance the cause of analytic psychotherapy as a century's old method of healing than anything the media has ever done. In fact, good therapy is captivating for the client and is probably the most significant series of events in the lives of those lucky enough to undertake it. It has the quality of creating a comfortable character for us which we can live with throughout the rest of our existence. In Treatment alone of all therapy depictions has generated that sense for the viewer. Hopefully, it will help others who are hesitantly considering therapy, to make the final move of walking through that door.

Aaron Z gave it a10:
We all know people with similar attitudes, problems and behaivours. Also found a little bit of all of them in myself. It's a remarkable, interesting and addicting show. Thanks HBO, you gave me a reason to watch something beyond Discovery Channel.

don m gave it a10:
What a refreshuing change to the current stale state of TV! Intelligent, heartfelt mini-movies of intense dramatic content. Entertaining and instructive like all good art.

Ralph P gave it an8:
What to me is most revelatory--and fascinating--about In Treatment the contrast between Paul the therapist and Paul the patient. The former appears mostly in control but also weary, sad, empathic, and, well, nice. The latter, on the other hand, in his scenes with Gina, his own therapist, is often out of control and angry. Not a therapist or patient myself, I can only guess that this contrast is not at all uncommon.

Aaron M. gave it a10:
I love this show, it keeps me at full attention from beginning to end.

Gail T gave it a10:
I really enjoy this show. I have a busy schedule and thought I would never catch up on missed episodes. Thank goodness for video on demand. I had the opportunity to get to know each character individually. In life, everyone has different issues to deal with. This show keeps it real. I am looking forward to seeing it more.

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