United States of Tara: Season 1
  • Network: Showtime
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 18, 2009
  • Season #: 1 , 2 , 3
User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 59 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 59
  3. Negative: 6 out of 59

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  1. AlexioF
    Nov 30, 2009
    10
    This show might take a few episodes to grow on you but is extremely well written and addictive. It has some of the best lines I've ever heard come out of the mouths of any TV character ever.
  2. JennetP.
    Jan 20, 2009
    7
    Better order up some coffee and doughnuts; the jury's gonna be out for a while. In an era of stultifying imitation (how many CSI's are there, again?), it's hard not to celebrate a show with such an original premise. Plucking a serious psychiatric disorder from the usual movie-of-the-week format and exploring its comic dimensions, not to mention its social and political resonances, is a bold move that deserves cheers and support. I just wish I liked the results more. I'm going to have to disagree with the critics dazzled by Toni Colette's performance; I find it hammy and overwrought--and way too dependent on costume changes. All that twisty-body look-at-my-thong stuff she does as a supposed 15-year-old is more characteristic of a 40-year-old who has gone to a bar to get laid but has only gotten drunk and desperate. And the alters themselves are stereotypes, which doesn't help her performances. Colette should take a look at Sally Field's chilling transformations in "Sibyl," occasionally managed with just a shift in facial expression. If she could bring that kind of subtlety to the show, it would be greatly improved. In addition, having cheered the show's avoidance of melodrama, I'm hoping its tone will grow more complex still. I'd like to see more darkness and desperation amid the fun. So far, it's the children who best register the tension between levity and horror, as one moment the existence of the alters lets them get away with a scam, while the next moment it pulls the earth out from under them. Their dad, on the other hand, is pretty one-dimensional, so far. I keep waiting for John Corbett play someone other than Handsome Q. Laidback, but he's showing no sign of weariness with the role. Nonetheless, I'm interested enough to keep watching, and I hope I'll be back soon to change my rating to a "10."… Expand
  3. JonH.
    Jan 19, 2009
    2
    Horribly over-wirtten, not a note rings true. It thinks it's far more clever and funny then it actually is, and just might trick a few viewers into thinking it is. It somehow makes Toni Colette look like a bad actress, which I never thought before. Her opening monologue to the video camera looked like something in a high school production. All the "alters" are one-dimensional and the handling of multiple personality is pretty embarrassing. The kids are also too witty and clever by half and get really grating really quickly.… Expand
  4. warwickc.
    Jan 27, 2009
    9
    A fine show...most critics who don't like this show seem to be falling into the trap of believing the show is a realisitic representation of did and not a dark comedy to highlight the issue
  5. LynnD.
    Apr 27, 2009
    10
    Toni Collette makes great use of this opportunity to show off her acting chops! Love this show.
  6. ChesterA.
    Jan 19, 2009
    10
    The show is great. Colette elevates everything she does. And people gotta get off Diablo Cody's back. Does she write pith for pith's sake at times? Of course... what writer is flawless? People should sit back and enjoy the show for what it is... a great piece of entertainment. I'm hooked.
  7. ZachE
    Jan 19, 2009
    10
    One of the best shows I have seen in a long while!
  8. Junomacguff
    Jun 13, 2009
    10
    Best show on showtime. Weeds comes second. The writing is genius. Nothing special about the directing even though urs coming from stev-o. Not the jackass. But um proud that he wanted diablo to work with him and make a show together. They have a future movie project together, I guess he was extremely impressed with the script for Juno, which was a brilliant movie. If you don't like the show just let grow on you. Its a great show.… Expand
  9. JuneBug
    Jun 13, 2009
    10
    the writing is genius. The maybe (ofcourse) gay son could have been great but I doubt any gay or bisexual can relate. It was a miss at a great possibility to deal with the mothers problems and the sons problems. But its still a show that will grow into a classic.
  10. JamesN
    Nov 8, 2009
    2
    Fatuous, self-consciously quirky bilge lazily thrown together over a few awful conceits and caricatures.
  11. EthanP.
    Jan 19, 2009
    9
    Saying it's not a funny show is one thing. Maybe it won't make you laugh. But if you write that it *shouldn't* be funny because it's about a serious issue, you're making a case for a depressing, drama-only landscape of TV. For me, the first few minutes of the pilot show this won't be a realistic show except in subtext. Even then, it'll inevitably woven loosely and graze lightly on The Female Condition. More importantly, it'll be crass, wrong, well acted, well written, and escapist, And so it could just keep us from blowing our brains out in 2009. Barring an early shark-jumping event, it's going to be totally awesome. (And I was so ready to cancel Showtime.)… Expand
  12. cccc
    Jan 26, 2009
    7
    The show is entertaining, and unique, as to whether it is accurate / politically correct is another story. It may offend some, but personally I am an not offended. Overall and find it humorous and interesting.
  13. AnneS
    Mar 27, 2009
    9
    This is one of the finest shows on television. Please note, the only two negative reviews come from papers owned by Rupert Murdoch of Fox News fame, likely a corporate directive issued in reaction to the young gay character.
  14. ShayS
    Sep 19, 2009
    5
    Good idea, okay cast, bad scripts.
  15. DillonT
    Sep 27, 2009
    2
    I don't know what to say...I didn't like her personalities, children, or husband. I get about the same amount of entertainment value from watching commercials.
  16. austinbond
    Sep 22, 2010
    9
    The show is very cleverly written and it succeeds in making you laugh by way of the fantastic one-liners delivered by the characters and not the terrible condition the title character lives with. The acting's top notch and is honest with it's portrayal of it's characters. Great show.
  17. Kandraa
    Oct 7, 2010
    8
    I really liked this show. One of the better TV shows in this day and age. It makes you understand D.I.D while making you laugh at some parts. This show has everything, drama, comedy, sad parts and happy parts. Very entertaining and almost addicting. I definitely recommend this.
  18. pamzita
    Jan 16, 2011
    10
    Amazing! Toni Collete is great! the main story is awesome, nothing bad to say about this... loving the characters and the secondary characters, everything is perfect
  19. Spyke
    Apr 11, 2011
    7
    This show takes the ordinary American family but with several nice twists.

    Toni is fab in her role, all of them. The characters are very well developed and they the writing does not give too much away.
  20. ATMitchell99
    Jun 11, 2011
    10
    Full of laughs and full of original Drama, season 1 fulfils everything that it claims to be, with Toni Collette putting on the best performance of her career, well deserving of the Emmy!
  21. kazerniel
    Jun 20, 2011
    9
    Really good story, interesting and realistic characters. The main actress is really good too, she can play a multitude of characters professionally. Addictive series!
  22. joef123
    Nov 20, 2012
    7
    Funny show but later seasons get bad. Toni Collette is the only reason this show is funny. I also like the performances of the kids, especially that they are so young.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Richmond
    80
    Anyone who makes it past the pilot is in for a pleasant surprise: Things greatly improve as the show settles into a comfortable rhythm through Episodes 2, 3 and 4. United States of Tara breaks new ground when it comes to warped dramatic family comedy.
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  2. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Nancy Franklin
    70
    The three alters are broad stereotypes, but Collette makes the moments of transition surprisingly touching, and sometimes subtly comic.
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  3. Philadelphia Daily News
    Reviewed by: Ellen Gray
    80
    Cody's gift is for characters who do and say the unexpected while remaining real, but without Colette, it's easy to imagine Tara as a train wreck, or, worse, an acting exercise. Somehow she imbues Tara's alternate personalities--known as the "alters"--with enough substance to make them interesting, without making them so real that we forget they're a manifestation of an illness.
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