Containment

Name: Containment
Genre: Drama
Released: April 19, 2016
Rating: 48
Cast: Claudia Black, Trevor St. John, Hanna Mangan-Lawrence, Chris Wood (III), David Gyasi

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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6.3

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6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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Series Details & Credits

The CW | CW | Release Date: April 19, 2016

Starring: Claudia Black, Trevor St. John, Hanna Mangan-Lawrence, Chris Wood (III), David Gyasi, Kristen Gutoskie, Christina Moses, George Younger (II)

Summary: Based on a Belgian series, an epidemic in Atlanta forces a large quarantine that separates love ones from each other.

Genre(s): Drama

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Recent Episodes

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S1:E13. Path to Paradise
Air Date: July 19, 2016
tbd
S1:E12. Yes Is the Only Living Thing
Air Date: July 12, 2016
tbd
S1:E11. Nothing Gold Can Stay
Air Date: July 5, 2016

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Tom Long

Apr 19, 2016

Season 1 Review: This is a disaster movie writ large for TV and the simple fact is, it works despite some none-too-subtle turns. You can’t help being enthralled by a story you wouldn’t want to be a part of. Read full review

David Wiegand

Apr 15, 2016

Season 1 Review: Containment may not be the CW’s answer to “Downton Abbey,” but it’s a very well-made, well-written and well-acted thriller that will keep you guessing about everything except for the quality of the series. Read full review

Glenn Garvin

Apr 19, 2016

Season 1 Review: However derivative Containment may be, it attains a certain creepy power as it rolls along its yuckily apocalyptic way. Read full review

Rob Owen

Apr 18, 2016

Season 1 Review: A multi-character drama, Containment is fine but unexceptional. Read full review

Robert Lloyd

Apr 19, 2016

Season 1 Review: Undemanding viewers (not a judgment) may find Containment diverting nonetheless. If nothing here seems the least real, the series' flaws, from its underpowered budget to its overripe dialogue, are those of innumerable, sometimes beloved B-, C- and D-grade pictures before it — not excluding the high-toned epigrams, from Socrates and Matthew and such that introduce each episode with a sheen of classy meaning. Read full review

Dan Fienberg

Apr 18, 2016

Season 1 Review: The CW's Containment is an occasionally terrifying, mostly formulaic tribute to the primal unease that comes from watching somebody coughing up blood. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Matt Roush

Apr 14, 2016

Season 1 Review: Plagued by mediocre writing and stubbornly dull acting, this unpleasant misfire feels like slow death as it spins out subplots from Disaster Movie 101. [18 Apr-1 May 2016, p.19]

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User Reviews

ginger_critique

Mar 27, 2020

2.5 episodes of over the top bloody spit splashing & fatal sneezes wore me out. I didn't think it was necessary to keep showing these kind of scenes to tell this "lethal human virus" story. Soooo Gross. I usually love gross Zombie apocalypse, End of the world plagues, Deadly Viruses, and2.5 episodes of over the top bloody spit splashing & fatal sneezes wore me out. I didn't think it was necessary to keep showing these kind of scenes to tell this "lethal human virus" story. Soooo Gross. I usually love gross Zombie apocalypse, End of the world plagues, Deadly Viruses, and all of that good infectious stuff filmmaking - but NO, not in Containment...... (hold up! initially I gave this series one star)

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.......BRAKES ON!! I put the brakes on right here!!! I actually wrote a long - bad review and left one star - but I deleted it. I'm back to give credit where credit is due. I removed most of what I wrote and have returned to give this series a 3.5 stars for being a pretty good show.

My initial bias toward most of the overly gorgeous woody, melodramatic actors caused me to feel that this series was a waste of my time. But I'm in quarantine (due to COVID-19) instructions for my city - and I decided to go ahead and give episode 3 a shot by completing it. What did I have to lose? So many hours have been giving back to me through this pandemic I chose to keep watching.

I'm glad I did because the characters started to grow on me. Things started to come together in the plot and character development. Similar to FWD & Power, this show started off bad but slowly began to come together - and a strong story began revealing itself. Don't get me wrong, it's not without its plot holes and ridiculous Hollywood race politics tossed into the character lines - but if you can forgive these senseless intrusions - an emotional and adrenalin filled ride will ensue.

The lead actor, a major (cop) named Lex does a good job of playing this highly moral, love struck protector of his city. He's clearly up against the red tape of "the man" - ie, big pharma, big science, Government, and the Head of this or that - and so on. I can tell he's not American and working hard to keep his true accent from seeping through on screen. Forgiven. Katie, her son and the cop who's stuck at the hospital with the only doctor who can probably find a cure for this virus really gives us a show. There's an older couple (I don't want to spoil it for you) in this storyline who add a heart-wrenching narrative about love, commitment, and what we'll do to uphold those things during a crisis. Keep the kleenex close by. Now, aside from some of the over the top acting and strange circumstances going on in this series, if you can just pretend these things could really happen, you'll have some fun.

You may even begin liking the characters, rooting for them, and yelling at the screen for them to stop making ridiculous choices. The chemistry is slow to manifest between these actors but eventually they DO get it right. Do I recommend watching this series? Yes, I do. Just don't try to compare it to our most popular deadly virus/Zombie apocalyptic series like TWD, FTWD, or Rain, The Strain, and any others you can think of. Go in with a clean slate. There is a place for this show. The actors are pretty good once you get to know them. And even though a significant portion of the script makes little sense, for example, "the loads of people rummaging, pillaging, looting, panicking, fighting, robbing stealing, and living in the streets near the main hospital during ALL 13 episodes - when they could easily be at home (like the senior couple I mentioned earlier) since this quarantine has been controlled by separating this one town from the rest of Atlanta." Honestly, that part made no sense. It's clearly done for effect.

Similar to the main cast, realistically, should something like this happen, people would only come out for food. They would seek shelter to keep themselves safe by limiting exposure to this virus that kills its hosts in 48 short hours once contracted. But not in Containment! The series is very overplayed and theatrical so you'll be confronted with a lot of " huh?" moments. There's also this simple minded gang who manages to get away with robbing the police and national guard of thousands of boxes of food rations. They basically jacked the officials for everything and took control of food sent to help the public. These vagabonds basically snatched the town's limited resources with zero pushback from law enforcement or the starving community. Unrealistic! There are only about 6 or 7 gang members so this makes zero sense in real life. Still, there's enough happening to keep you locked into this series. There's non-stop action and cliff hangers all the way through so like I said, if you can make out of episode 3, you should be good to go.… Expand

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Seasons & Episodes

48

Series Overview
Season 1

48
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: April 19, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E13. Path to Paradise
  Air Date: July 19, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E12. Yes Is the Only Living Thing
  Air Date: July 12, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E11. Nothing Gold Can Stay
  Air Date: July 5, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E10. A Time to Be Born...
  Air Date: June 28, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E9. A Kingdom Divided Against Itself
  Air Date: June 21, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E8. There Is a Crack in Everything
  Air Date: June 14, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E7. Inferno
  Air Date: May 31, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E6. He Stilled the Rising Tumult
  Air Date: May 24, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E5. Like a Sheep Among Wolves
  Air Date: May 17, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E4. With Silence and Tears
  Air Date: May 10, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E3. Be Angry at the Sun
  Air Date: May 3, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E2. I to Die, You to Live
  Air Date: April 26, 2016
- tbd
  S1:E1. Pilot
  Air Date: April 19, 2016