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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed shows.
This American Life
EMAILPRINTSERIES: Showtime, Thursday 10:30p (30 minutes)

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 15 votes
Read user comments
Rate this show >
Show Info
Genre(s): Other, Reality (Non-Competitive)
Created By: Ira Glass
First Air Date: March 22, 2007
Summary
Starring Ira Glass (host)
This spinoff of the popular public radio show (well, as popular as a public radio show can get) hosted by Ira Glass adds visuals to the program's usual mix of storytelling and reporting, revolving around a single theme each week.
Also On The Web: Official Showtime Site Official This American Life Site
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...
Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
It's really kind of a glorious little miracle, a half-hour series of little pictures of simple, complex and unfamous Americans breathing everyday lives, with a twist of kookiness, while they search for the Meaning of Everything and The Big Picture.
Read Full Review >People WeeklyTom Gliatto
The show falls prey to a faint preciousness in the voiceover narration from its correspondents and host Glass. They overarticulate the ironies instead of just letting you watch. Which you should do. Watch. [26 Mar 2007, p.37]
The New RepublicSacha Zimmerman
The haunting and sometimes mirthful tales that are the stock-and-trade of "This American Life" are not lost in imagery but heightened by it.
Read Full Review >New York PostLinda Stasi
In their own bizarre way each episode is very American, very naive and very full of hope. Oh, yeah - and a lot of laughs, too.
Read Full Review >Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
This handsomely produced experimental series ought to please flexible fans. [30 Mar 2007, p.62]
Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart
“This American Life” on TV achieves the same contemplative mood as the radio show. And it has a striking spareness of imagery, much as “Life” on radio has a spareness of sound.
Read Full Review >Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
The radio show is so much about voice and language and storytelling, I worried that the TV folks would mess it up. Luckily, the radio show's host, Ira Glass, hasn't allowed that to happen.
Read Full Review >Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik
Its power radiates from the screen as forcefully as it does from the radio.
Read Full Review >Hollywood ReporterRandee Dawn
"Life" makes the ordinary extraordinary and along the way makes the world seem wider, bigger and an eternally more interesting place to be.
Read Full Review >NewsdayDiane Werts
They've translated the radio show's aural mosaic to the visual medium so effortlessly in this first season of six half-hours, we hope Showtime orders more of this life we all can recognize.
Read Full Review >SalonHeather Havrilesky
"This American Life" features the same rich, rambling storytelling that makes the radio show so hypnotic, but it's enhanced by cinematography that's lovely and artful without distracting from the story lines or the tone of the show.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland
"This American Life" lost none of its authenticity in transition from radio to Showtime.
Read Full Review >New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
This TV version not only has a distinct, appealing look, it also retains the radio show's sound and personality.
Read Full Review >San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
The television version of "This American Life" does not ruin the fragile, hip beauty of the radio version. Glass and the team responsible for adding pictures to words have created a compelling television series.
Read Full Review >Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
It's a welcome addition to nonfiction television and a loyal friend to the radio show.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd
The show's attitudinal mix of the jaded and amazed, the shocked and amused, is supported by the production itself.
Read Full Review >VarietyPhil Gallo
The selections in the first two episodes possess compelling strength, whimsy and ambiguity in both the stories and the characters, providing a solid transformation from radio to TV.
Read Full Review >The New York TimesVirginia Heffernan
If “This American Life” is all like this [opening] segment, it will be an immaculate and historic documentary series, with or without the storytelling pretext.
Read Full Review >Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan
“This American Life” really begins to show its TV potential in episode three, when the show stops trying so hard to be perfect and lets its storytelling sprawl.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this show is 9.8 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
snortch gave it a10:
While the movies let me down sooo often, I am now discovering that TV seems to have the most compelling stuff. TAL on TV is really really great. I thought that I wouldnt like being shown the imagery, but this is a perfect translation from radio to TV. Don't get me wrong...I still really enjoy the little pictures that develop in my head when listening on the radio...but this is shot in a way that is not heavy handed. There are still many dots left to connect. I really enjoyed the last act of episode 2. Haunting and poignant as the photographic equipment slides up and down and left to right. Well Done!
buzz c gave it a10:
perfect.
CB gave it a10:
It's the best show on TV and RADIO.
Kevin N gave it a9:
This nearly perfect television show surprised me in a couple of ways. Showtime's clearly taking a risk by airing this unusual take on the human-interest story from the nightly television news of decades gone. A minimalistic take on storytelling accompanied by a spare soundtrack encourages a kind of philosophic contemplation in the viewer. The tone is both sad and hopeful. 'This American Life' is unlike any television show I've seen and elegantly captures the spirit of its public radio progenitor.
Otho S gave it a10:
This American Life translates beautifully to TV, although I miss the radio program's reliance on Glass' dulcet tones. I think that Maureen Ryan of the Trib gave it a lukewarm review simply so that she wouldn't look like parochial by praising a Chicago-originated program. It's okay, Maureen, Chicago is a big city. We're fairly sophisticated here. it doesn't matter what the New York Times says. You can like the show without looking like the television reviewer for the Des Moines Register.
Dale D gave it a10:
I thought that you couldn't possibly get any better than the radio show. I know now that you can equal it!!!
Ron W gave it a10:
This is real for the real and life for those who love to live it. Phenomenal production. Shadows on the ground and clouds in the sky. True love hurts and through pain we can grow. Bravo Mr. Glass.
