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The Ex List: Season 1
  • Network: CBS
  • Series Premiere Date: Oct 3, 2008
  • Season #: 1
Metascore
62 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 24
  3. Negative: 1 out of 24
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Gillian Flynn
    83
    The Ex List could be one of the more charming new shows of the fall.
  2. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Nancy DeWolf Smith
    80
    There is enough lively (if sometimes explicit) dialogue and reliable sexual appeal in all this to keep intuitive male viewers interested.
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Richmond
    80
    The Ex List is one of those rare new season surprises that consistently charms straight out of the box, boasting a clever premise (borrowed from Israeli television) and a disarmingly appealing lead in Elizabeth Reaser (a recurring player on "Grey's Anatomy").
  4. Philadelphia Daily News
    Reviewed by: Ellen Gray
    80
    A sassy, slightly raunchy comedy about a serial dater who's told by a fortune teller that if she marries, it will be within a year--to a guy she's already met.
  5. Time
    Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    80
    This My Name Is Girl concept may be outlandish, but Ex List is also fresh and raunchily funny (there's a scene in the pilot comparing feminine waxing choices to historical figures--the "Hitler," the "Gandhi") and Reaser is winning and adorable.
  6. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Misha Davenport
    75
    The show succeeds best when it focuses on its main plot. A subplot involving her best friend and an extreme bikini waxing is crude for an otherwise lighthearted and romantic show.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    75
    The slightly-altered version that arrived for review more recently left me charmed.
  8. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    75
    It stars Elizabeth Reaser ("Grey's Anatomy"), as Bella, who strikes the right balance of snide, seasoned relationship survivor and romantic hopeful. There's a winning cast, particularly Rachel Boston who plays Bella's sister and Amir Talai ("Campus Ladies") as one of Bella's male buddies.
  9. PopMatters
    Reviewed by: Marisa Carroll
    70
    The supernatural premise underlying Bella's quest may be fantastic, but the urgent desire to find a husband "before it's too late" is unfortunately all too common.
  10. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    70
    Lust because something's almost unforgivably cute ("Holy hottie, Batman" is an actual line) doesn't mean it can't also be very good and very funny, which The Ex List is.
  11. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Ginia Bellafante
    70
    The Ex List doesn't solicit analysis, and it has no ambition to be debated. And yet, or rather because of, this narrower vision it is about as charming an hour of television as anyone female could hope to stay home for.
  12. Variety
    Reviewed by: Phil Gallo
    70
    Dialogue by Diane Ruggiero is sharply written and realistic, observational and unhurried. It remains to be seen, though, whether 9 p.m. Friday viewers are ready for the debate over Vivian's new Brazilian.
  13. Newark Star-Ledger
    Reviewed by: Alan Sepinwall
    70
    The Ex List has the kind of silly romantic comedy premise that makes you feel dumber just for hearing it, but the show itself is actually fairly smart and funny--for the time being, at least.
  14. Orlando Sentinel
    Reviewed by: Hal Boedeker
    60
    This slight but charming comedy, which debuts at 9 p.m. Friday, offers a good cast along with questionable dialogue and a dicey premise.
  15. Slate
    Reviewed by: Troy Patterson
    60
    We bailed after the first of these dudes entered the frame, jolted by his frankly cheesy display of torso--"infomercial abs" was the damning phrase. But, until that moment, The Ex List had commanded our full attention in a way that the previous shows hadn't.
  16. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    50
    It's more unfortunate when good actors are stranded in shows that don't quite work, as is the case in The Ex List.
  17. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    50
    Despite a poor job of establishing its characters and their relationships (wait, those two aren't a couple?), The Ex-List begins with a strong, romantic premise.
  18. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Robert Bianco
    50
    Unfortunately, when the show wanders off to the personality-deprived supporting characters, it collapses.
  19. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    42
    The Ex List--based on an Israeli hit ("Mythological Ex"), with whiffs of "How I Met Your Mother" and "My Name Is Earl" - is a flat-out great idea for a TV series. But Ruggiero (who's since left the show) needed a strong partner to reign in her worst impulses, like a running gag about shaved genitalia.
  20. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    40
    Bella, played by Elizabeth Reaser of "Grey's Anatomy," is pleasant, and viewers will appreciate how she works to keep urgency from devolving into desperation. But she's stuck in this guy-of-the-week plot that leaves little room to do anything but hope each guy has enough unique quirks so the jokes can change.
  21. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Tom Shales
    40
    It has a promotable gimmick that could help it find a few fans--literally. If only the premise or the show were as bright as the light in the heroine's eyes.
  22. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    40
    There's probably a good, breezy romantic comedy somewhere inside The Ex List. But the premiere just made me cranky.
  23. Salon
    Reviewed by: Heather Havrilesky
    40
    The Ex List tries to pull off an impossible balancing act: We're supposed to believe that Bella is at once pathetic and admirable, hapless and perkily resilient. As a result, this scrounging-single fable is an unrealistic, clumsy, cringe-inducing mess.
  24. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Glenn Garvin
    30
    CBS' new comedy-drama The Ex List is a descent to the most profound levels of Chick Flick Hell, where the damned and those with Y chromosomes cry out in agony through all eternity.
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User Reviews

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User Score
9.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. RaeK.
    10
    Cute show, especially the about the surfer dude. My son is an extra, sits at their table, has a wonderful smile and cute dimples. The stars are cute too. But what can a momma say! I liked all the episodes so far, not bad for an older woman to watch! Reminds me of my youth!… Full Review »
  2. Tom
    9
    The show kind of...well it's not that good but i would watch elizabeth reaser read the phone book for an hour.
  3. SuzieS.
    9
    The show was very funny and interesting when the psychic came on. She's what made the show!
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