• Network: AMC
  • Series Premiere Date: Aug 11, 2013
Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 27
  2. Negative: 1 out of 27
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Critic Reviews

  1. Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    Aug 12, 2013
    60
    Low Winter Sun is a good show with the potential to grow into a very good show.
  2. Reviewed by: Alessandra Stanley
    Aug 8, 2013
    60
    Low Winter Sun is so clotted with bleak cityscapes, shadowy interiors and brooding portent that the narrative sags under the weight of all that mood-setting.
  3. Reviewed by: David Hiltbrand
    Aug 8, 2013
    60
    Low Winter Sun goes for a mood darker than noir. It's atmospheric, but the air it generates is noxious.
  4. Reviewed by: Ed Bark
    Aug 8, 2013
    58
    Low on initial appeal and likewise short on originality, it’s a bleak ’n’ grim undertaking that just doesn’t seem built for the long haul.
  5. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Oliver Jones
    Aug 16, 2013
    50
    The gutted-out city is perhaps the show's most compelling character. [26 Aug 2013, p.38]
  6. Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Aug 12, 2013
    50
    The performances really are good, almost good enough to make the hokey dialogue believable, but not quite good enough to make Low Winter Sun a must-see when there are so many other shows--about cops and otherwise--that do this moral ambiguity thing much better.
  7. Reviewed by: Sara Smith
    Aug 9, 2013
    50
    It’s a fascinating visual ride. But without heroes worth rooting for or a victim worth avenging, the rubble heaps of an imploded metropolis can only do so much heavy lifting.
  8. Reviewed by: Mike Lechevallier
    Aug 9, 2013
    50
    Low Winter Sun too often lingers on Detroit's colorless evil more than its spirited righteousness, resulting in an overwhelmingly bleak narrative that feels as cold and lifeless as a corpse.
  9. Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    Aug 9, 2013
    50
    Sun, a series adaptation of a British miniseries (which also starred Mark Strong) is, after the two episodes I’ve seen, a unremarkable in itself: a paint-by-the-numbers serious-cable series where all the numbers indicate a shade of black.
  10. Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Aug 9, 2013
    50
    Sun aspires to the breadth if not the depth of The Wire. But it's so self-conscious in its existential misery, lacking the leavening humor and humanity of a modern classic like Breaking Bad, that it often feels more punishing than provocative.
  11. Reviewed by: Robert Bianco
    Aug 9, 2013
    50
    Too much simply rings forced and phony, from the dialogue to the plot to the characters.
  12. Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Aug 6, 2013
    50
    For now, Low Winter Sun has created a reasonably compelling universe, without as yet establishing the gravitational pull necessary to ensure viewers stay in its orbit.
  13. Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    Aug 9, 2013
    40
    It comes off as a straining, overly serious wannabe.
  14. 40
    If the show were badly directed, photographed, edited, and acted, at least you could have fun laughing at it, but everyone’s working so hard to put across unremarkable material that the best one can manage is a kind of exhausted empathy.
  15. Reviewed by: Dorothy Rabinowitz
    Aug 9, 2013
    40
    A situation brimming with the potential for suspense, and irony. Those may yet emerge, if only someone produces a script to make it possible. For the moment, all that is brimming here is the evidence of an ill-advised faith in the drawing power of depressive police dramas.
  16. Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    Aug 6, 2013
    40
    The drama, which is an adaptation of a U.K. series of the same name, tries way too hard to be a Serious Cable Drama. The strain almost turns it into a parody of the genre.
User Score
7.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 82 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 82
  2. Negative: 11 out of 82
  1. Sep 20, 2013
    8
    The art of this series is the tension of will they succeed or fail at getting away with the murder. The complexity of the storyline has beenThe art of this series is the tension of will they succeed or fail at getting away with the murder. The complexity of the storyline has been steadily reducing as the plot boils away the options Frank has to maintain his grip on the investigation and all the distractions. Full Review »
  2. Sep 8, 2013
    10
    This show is awesome. Great writing and solid acting. Its slowly developing and getting better and i am liking the new layers each episode. itThis show is awesome. Great writing and solid acting. Its slowly developing and getting better and i am liking the new layers each episode. it may not be to everyones taste but it works like a novel maybe and not a comic book. Full Review »
  3. Aug 12, 2013
    9
    Superb acting by Lennie James and Mark Strong and intriguing plot. Visually stunning.The art direction is something special. Will beSuperb acting by Lennie James and Mark Strong and intriguing plot. Visually stunning.The art direction is something special. Will be interesting to see the season unfold. Full Review »