Halt and Catch Fire: Season 3

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 12 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 77 Ratings

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8.3

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8.3	Your Score
8.3	User Score Universal acclaim based on 77 Ratings

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Halt & Catch Fire

Now Playing: Halt & Catch Fire

Season Details & Credits

AMC | Season Premiere Date: August 23, 2016

Summary: Cameron Howe (Mackenzie Davis) and Donna Clark (Kerry Bishé) move their company from Texas to the Silicon Valley in 1986 in the third season.

Genre(s): Drama

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Season 3 Episodes

tbd
S3:E10. NeXT
Air Date: October 11, 2016
tbd
S3:E9. NIM
Air Date: October 11, 2016
tbd
S3:E8. You Are Not Safe
Air Date: October 4, 2016

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Verne Gay

Aug 26, 2016

Halt finally looks like a series going someplace important, and worth viewers going there with it. Read full review

100

Emily VanDerWerff

Aug 25, 2016

The first five episodes of that third season are as good as anything I’ve seen on TV this year. Read full review

Alan Sepinwall

Aug 22, 2016

It would be easy for all this reinvention to feel jarring, or like Halt desperately racing from one idea to the next because the last one ran out of steam. But each transition has felt natural, earned, and of a piece with what came before. Read full review

Hank Stuever

Aug 22, 2016

Aside from the occasional inspired hairstyle and music cue, Halt and Catch Fire’s sense of period detail has never seemed adequately obsessive. Yet I also find that the show has smoothed out enough kinks to become compelling on its own terms, which is often the case with slower shows. Read full review

Collider Chris Cabin

Aug 24, 2016

Halt and Catch Fire finally seems to know how to fluidly move from one proverbial decibel to the next, all in the hope of finding a place where you feel comfortable being yourself. Read full review

Maureen Ryan

Aug 23, 2016

In episodes that alternate percolating energy with quiet ruminations on loyalty, leadership and the ways in which people lie to themselves and others, the satisfying third season builds up an admirable head of steam and gives the core cast (including the wonderful and previously under-used Toby Huss) and guest star Annabeth Gish smart material to work with. Read full review

Ken Tucker

Aug 22, 2016

Halt and Catch Fire doesn’t seem to trust that the viewer will know what it’s talking about. Read full review

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User Score

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8.3

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User Reviews

GamergodsFail

Oct 12, 2016

Halt and Catch Fire is the perfect example of a television show that just keeps getting better and better. With great directing, phenomenal acting, and very intelligently written with surprising shocks and turns, Season 3 brought all the right ingredients to go down as the best drama of the year.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

OlivierPiel

Dec 10, 2016

A show that gets better and better. Even the acting has improved! If there is one word that would sum up that show it would be "tempo". What a great pacing, what a great sense of where to cut, to make that elliptic jump and to focus on the core of the story even though most viewers areA show that gets better and better. Even the acting has improved! If there is one word that would sum up that show it would be "tempo". What a great pacing, what a great sense of where to cut, to make that elliptic jump and to focus on the core of the story even though most viewers are computer illiterate.
The paranoid atmosphere is also rended in a far more electrifying manner than the AMC flagship, the ever slowly sinking The Walking Dead.… Expand

1 of 9 users found this helpful18

Tony1984

Feb 16, 2018

A tremendous drama that doesn't coat it's audience in sugar or tug blatant emotional levers to evoke sympathy. Instead we have a fierce drama with characters who are borderline obnoxious to the extent of psychological disorder . Somehow, despite not especially liking any of them, and I meanA tremendous drama that doesn't coat it's audience in sugar or tug blatant emotional levers to evoke sympathy. Instead we have a fierce drama with characters who are borderline obnoxious to the extent of psychological disorder . Somehow, despite not especially liking any of them, and I mean any of them, we are fascinated by them and need to know how their world turns out.
To some this will be perplexing or even boring to watch as you need a little retro techno knowhow to understand what's going on and an appreciation for nerd culture especially the 80's version. The story evolves and explains technical advances in way that is both satisfying and seamless with the narrative. There is sadness and hubris and revelation in this season, it’s more poignant than the previous for sure. The finale leaves us satisfied and wanting more at the same time.
The pace is gradual and then jumps multiyear and then gradual again. A nice technique to propel the story. What I like most are the stand alone scenes scattered throughout the season that are not pivotal or necessary as such but just develop the individual characters.These are subtle gems . Excellent show.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

MauriceI

Aug 24, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm writing this after seeing HaCF two full seasons and 2 episodes of 3rd, it's brilliant! Let me describe you how I got so excited about this show.

Having in mind this is fictional story based on some quite real facts, quality of show is dependent on smart choice of type of main characters, them being fictional or real is not so important, and smart telling of story, not too fast, but also not too slow, and lastly, story can not be only (hi)story, it needs to have some human interactions.
Checking these criteria, all are met, and then some!

Cameron and Donna, you have surely seen some strong female characters,but Cameron and Donna, I'm repeating their names intentionally, you don't see such women every day. Yes, they exist, but you don't see them televised every day.

Donna is housewife from first minute of first episode, but as series progress, you see that she is not ordinary housewife, as her job is asking, she temporarily leaves hers house role and gives at least 16 hours a day to her job, being techno-guru of Mutiny. And not only that, she's techno-guru, manager, economist, persistent, loving, and quite pretty, ideal woman any geek can imagine.

For Donna's jin, Cameron is perfect jang, as she's Mutiny's software guru, and wild and socially inept as much as Donna is "common housewife". Of course, Cameron shows hers emotions quite much, she's not robot, but what is most important - she's showing that she don't know what to do with her emotions, problem almost every geek or any socially inept person has before losing that ineptitude in usual process of growing up. And she's wild and pretty, and you can be male macho or female feminist **** but you can not be human if you do not love both Donna and Cameron, as they are honest, and smart and and ... perfect in their imperfection.

Don't think if I started review with two female characters that this show is female only sitcom, no no no! It's not sitcom, and it's not female only - Joe MacMillan, played by Lee Pace, you do not see such actor every day. Genius, intense, girls would probably say "mcSteamy" or something like this, he's Cameron's male counterpart, wild and having quite impressive tone in his voice, he is not guru of hardware or software, but he is guru of needs of of IT industry, and guru of people.

And finally Gordon, only main male technical guru, having health issues and geek exterior, but boy how is he sometimes brilliant!

So whatever you are, man or woman, straight or bi or same sex, techie or housewife, there are characters in this show you can identify with. Tech side is authentic, C64's etc, it's fun to see computers how they looked some 30 years ago and hear screeching of modems.

Only reason I gave this show 9 and not 10 is at the same time reason why I so much enjoy this show - part of show is oriented to history of old computers, and that is something what not everybody can relate.
But that applies also for Mad men or Pacific or any premier period/history TV drama, you get not only superb acting/script/characters, you also get insight to computers/advertising/war, and if you are not interested so much in that subject or have aversion, that can distract you. But if you give it a chance, you can and will enjoy in Joe MacMillan screen time at least the same or more than Mad Men's Don Draper.

Know, Draper is The man, but he's just advertising freak, and ads are things we all live with, but hate.
Joe MacMillan is The man, and he is the man who is making things without which our world today would not be so good as we know it. And role of Gordon and Cameron and Donna is also more than visible, they not only would not be so good without ingenuity of every one of them, success of each of them is quite intrinsically liked to others, although not everybody can see that all, and some employees don't see that at all.

That's the beauty of show, brilliant people having human flaws, contrasted with "ordinary" people which are essentially the same, just a bit less brilliant and having more flaws.
Knowing the difference, going for more, giving more, not more time, but more effort, more soul is the key.
You can find it all in this show. And see C64 and listen about computer viruses. It's fun. But not cheap fun like predecessors, IT crowd or advanced version, Silicon valley, but fully blown, adult grade IT show.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Prosmooth

Aug 23, 2016

This show has really grown on me. I like it because every time I think it's going to zig left--it zags right. It's very unpredictable in plot and characterization. It reminds me a lot of Mad Men in that way. The 5 main actors are all excellent. Really strong show for AMC. A shame more peopleThis show has really grown on me. I like it because every time I think it's going to zig left--it zags right. It's very unpredictable in plot and characterization. It reminds me a lot of Mad Men in that way. The 5 main actors are all excellent. Really strong show for AMC. A shame more people don't watch it.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

GrantD243

Nov 18, 2018

Season three of Halt and Catch Fire takes the technology focus of season one, the character/drama focus of season two, and combines them for what is a very good season. Each character continues to progress on their path and the story remains as interesting as ever. This remains the perfectSeason three of Halt and Catch Fire takes the technology focus of season one, the character/drama focus of season two, and combines them for what is a very good season. Each character continues to progress on their path and the story remains as interesting as ever. This remains the perfect show for fans of the history of computers as well as just fans of drama shows in general.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

AngryIgor

Apr 2, 2018

is just as boring as you would expect.... when you got boring topic you cant have interesting story... its just big meh.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

SEE ALL 11 REVIEWS

Seasons & Episodes

75

Series Overview
Season 4

92
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: August 19, 2017
Season 3

83
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: August 23, 2016
- tbd
  S3:E10. NeXT
  Air Date: October 11, 2016
- tbd
  S3:E9. NIM
  Air Date: October 11, 2016
- tbd
  S3:E8. You Are Not Safe
  Air Date: October 4, 2016
- tbd
  S3:E7. The Threshold
  Air Date: September 27, 2016
- tbd
  S3:E6. And She Was
  Air Date: September 20, 2016
- tbd
  S3:E5. Yerba Buena
  Air Date: September 13, 2016
- tbd
  S3:E4. Rules of Honorable Play
  Air Date: September 6, 2016
- tbd
  S3:E3. Flipping the Switch
  Air Date: August 30, 2016
- tbd
  S3:E2. One Way or Another
  Air Date: August 23, 2016
- tbd
  S3:E1. Valley of the Heart's Delight
  Air Date: August 23, 2016
Season 2

73
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: May 31, 2015
Season 1

69
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: June 1, 2014