CNET Networks Entertainment GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Television

2008 Summer Season
2007-08 Midseason
2007 Fall Season
2007 Summer Season
2006-07 Midseason
2006 Fall Season
2006 Summer Season
2005-06 Midseason
2005 Fall Season
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss TV In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Movies & Specials

Camp Rock 65
Disney, 6/20

 

Upcoming & Recent Series Premieres

The Secret Life of the American Teenager 45
ABC Family, Tuesday

Hopkins 78
ABC, Thursday

Inspector Lewis: Series One 74
PBS, Sunday

The Middleman 73
ABC Family, Monday

Secret Diary of a Call Girl 53
Showtime, Monday

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Saving Grace
SERIES: TNT, Monday 10:00p (60 minutes)

Saving Grace
Critic Score
Metascore: 64 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
4.8 out of 10
based on 23 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?
based on 54 votes
read user comments
rate this tv show

Starring Holly Hunter, Leon Rippy, Kenneth Johnson, Bailey Chase, Bokeem Woodbine, and Laura San Giacomo

An angel named Earl (Rippy) tries to save an Oklahoma City detective (Hunter) from self-destruction.

GENRE(S): Drama
CREATED BY: Nancy Miller
FIRST AIR DATE: July 23, 2007

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...

83
Christian Science Monitor Gloria Goodale
Only an actress of sublime abilities could lift this material from the downright silly to something intriguingly watchable.
Read Full Review
80
Variety Brian Lowry
The show's blessings, however, are more earthy - beginning with Hunter, who oozes anger, sexuality and irreverence, sometimes all at once. San Giacomo is perfectly cast as her friend and sounding board, and Johnson, Rippy and Woodbine all deliver solid support, with the jailhouse sequences among the show's best.
Read Full Review
80
New York Magazine John Leonard
It relies on intelligence and resourcefulness rather than divine providence.
Read Full Review
80
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
Writer/creator Nancy Miller ("Any Day Now") imbues the show with touches both subtle and a little overwrought but the divine "Grace" still offers stronger characters and better stories than many other summer series.
Read Full Review
80
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
The good news is that the smartly written "Saving Grace" is not a mess. In fact, it's one of the most distinctive new shows of the year.
Read Full Review
80
Salon Heather Havrilesky
Saving Grace is my second-favorite cable drama this summer ("Mad Men" being the obvious front-runner), thanks to the excellent cast (Kenny Johnson and Laura San Giacomo, among others), and the fact that Hunter plays Grace with so much authenticity and scratchy sweetness.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman
All told, this series is pleasantly unexpected, taking chances on TNT when it seemed the channel's DNA wouldn't permit that level of risk. If the writing continues to hold up, viewers could be in for a better ride than the one Hunter is already taking them on by herself.
Read Full Review
75
San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum
Grace has a world of promise with thoughtful writing by Nancy Miller ("The Closer," "Any Day Now"), an intriguing take on the nature of faith and a sheer force-of-nature performance by Hunter.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
What we have here is a show Hunter has produced acceptably well and acted with immense, believable intensity. It's a fairly gritty TV role served with a spoonful of lightheartedness.
Read Full Review
70
TV Guide Matt Roush
Self-consciously edgy while flirting with cosmic schmaltz, Saving Grace is overdone, but not run-of-the-mill.
Read Full Review
70
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
This is not a shoot-the-moon, wholly unique story, but it's comforting and thoughtful.
Read Full Review
70
Los Angeles Times Mary McNamara
[Hunter] captures well the worn-to-the-bone, irritable and slightly skanky buzz of a person living on too little sleep and too many medicinally applied Cokes, while infusing her character with a gentle heart and a sudden, dazzling smile. But much of the rest of the show is tediously familiar.
Read Full Review
70
Flak Magazine James Norton
The acting is strong, the music is good, and the show's not likely to leave many viewers lacking an opinion.
Read Full Review
70
Slate Troy Patterson
The details of the play between Hunter and her co-stars are engrossing enough that you're glad to let the big arc sail over your head.
Read Full Review
67
Entertainment Weekly Henry Goldblatt
[The writers/producers] don't seem to have faith that their antiheroine and setting are compelling enough on their own, so they've added this superfluous otherworldly layer to keep views intrigued. [27 Jul 2007, p. 58]
60
Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker
Hunter is so good that she may save this erratic show.
Read Full Review
60
Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall
The pieces shouldn't fit together--Earl's celestial presence with Grace's raging sex life, discussions of metaphysics with police procedural plots--but somehow they do.
Read Full Review
50
New York Post Linda Stasi
The ensemble company, including the always-wonderful Laura San Giacomo, who plays her friend, never misses a beat. Too bad this series--which tries too hard--misses a stanza or two.
Read Full Review
40
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
The main reason to watch can only be Holly Hunter.... Although she's a prisoner of the material, her performance is so good that it can distract you from this otherwise simplistic take on a complex issue.
Read Full Review
40
Washington Post Tom Shales
At present it suffers from a problem that predates not only television but radio and theater as well: Too many cooks, or at least too many ingredients bubbling to a busy and irritating boil.
Read Full Review
37
USA Today Robert Bianco
The real sin here is the way the show wastes Hunter, a terrific actress with a proven ability to make tough women compelling.
Read Full Review
30
Wall Street Journal Nancy DeWolf Smith
We're left with a heap of hocus-pocus that will offend some viewers and seem pretentious or silly to others.
Read Full Review
30
LA Weekly Robert Abele
Hunter seems to mostly flail in a show that is too unremarkable for her talents.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this tv show is 4.8 (out of 10) based on 54 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kelly S gave it a9:
This show hit me like a freight train! Love it....Holly just inhabits the character of Grace. I can't imagine another actress pulling it off. Grace is such a flawed person, but somehow it all works. I do agree the story lines are weak, but the interaction of characters is phenomenal. Can't wait for season 2.

Linker gave it a4:
Still not quite sure what to make of this show. They act like Grace is a terrible person and yet, somehow, so lovable and wonderful to everyone around her. But she isn't really all that likable to me, I just don't feel any connection to somebody who is that big of a slut. And the story isn't usually interesting enough to hold my attention. At this point, Laura San Giacomo is the most interesting and enjoyable character in the show.

Betty E. gave it a9:
I love this show! I really relate to the character/theme and think it is well written and well acted. More!

Janice J. gave it a0:
THIS SHOW IS PAINFUL TO WATCH....too much of Holly - not enough story line.

Craig K gave it a3:
Hunter does a great job playing Grace, however Grace is not someone that I want to spend time watching.

Linda G. gave it a2:
Love Laura SanGiacomo, and Holly Hunter, but the material is just downright awful!

Seattle W. gave it a9:
I enjoy this show very much. There are very few shows on television I watch regularly, and this is one of them. The characters are great and Grace's story is complex and entertaining. However, the cases in each episode are disappointing. Seems each villain eventually just caves and admits guilt. I'm hooked on Grace and her family and friends. More interesting weekly storylines are more likely to keep me watching.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this tv show in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: World News | Fantasy Football | Amy Winehouse | Baseball | E3 | Batman | Firefox 3 | iPhone 3G

About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use