School Pride

:

Season 1
  • Network: NBC
  • Series Premiere Date: Oct 15, 2010
Metascore
45

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 9
  3. Negative: 3 out of 9

Critic Reviews

  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Leah Greenblatt
    75
    A well-timed small-screen counterpart to Waiting for "Superman," Pride is essentially Extreme Makeover: School Edition. But whereas "Superman" digs into the systemic failures of public education, this feel-good hour focuses primarily on the cosmetic.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Paige Wiser
    63
    Maybe School Pride doesn't have the drama of a single sob story, but by the end of the pilot you'll feel both ashamed and inspired. This is what it looks like to volunteer, and there's no reason why you can't do something. Go team!
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    50
    It's a noble goal and one hopes that after viewing School Pride, volunteers spring up, committees form and checks are written. Because to merely watch the show and wallow in its many throat-tightening moments would be to remain a voyeur, and then you're just part of the problem.
  5. Philadelphia Daily News
    Reviewed by: Ellen Gray
    50
    I think Hines' heart is in the right place, but I'm tired of seeing people in need used as entertainment to get help they're actually entitled to as Americans.
  6. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Mike Hale
    40
    If you don't have a taste for tears and cheers and group hugs, a lot of time in School Pride is actually spent watching paint dry.
  7. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    40
    Every scene in School Pride feels like the seventh or 10th take and too contrived, even by the low standards of reality TV....I will say that School Pride seems less manipulative and showy than its forebears.
  8. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Barry Garron
    30
    So give School Pride an A for good intentions, a D for research into what ails public schools and an F for deliberately concealing the fact that it took the network and its sponsors--and not some empowered community--to revitalize a school.
  9. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Glenn Garvin
    30
    The aggressive fakery of School Pride makes it unfortunately difficult to believe when the show throws some unexpected punches.
  10. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    30
    Soboroff seems positively amazed in the premiere when he lands an interview with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, asking who and what was responsible for the school's dilapidated condition. The not-exactly-press-shy governor rattled off a laundry list of factors: "Labor, special interests, a lack of parent participation, a lack of funding. Clearly, I would say government." Hey, his term's almost up. Let's give him a show. Maybe that will at least have more substance to it.

Awards & Rankings

98
#98 Most Discussed TV Season of 2010

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Awaiting 2 more ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 2 out of 2
  1. Raquel4LA
    Nov 20, 2010
    3
    I watched school pride for the first time last night. Feel good hour? I cringed most of the time. Instead of bringing the community togetherI watched school pride for the first time last night. Feel good hour? I cringed most of the time. Instead of bringing the community together to confront real challenges that have existed at a local school for decades, I felt the show's host created a greater divide and effectively turned a positive into a negative. I was hoping for an inspirational show like Extreme Home Makeover, but was extremely disappointed. My opinion: Where Extreme Home Makeover appears to use sponsors to accomplish its goals and improve people's lives, School Pride seems to use people to accomplish an unknown agenda.… Full Review »
  2. cnoel11
    Nov 2, 2010
    1
    I had seen a trailer for this show before it aired and thought it was a good idea, and it is a good idea. Rebuilding schools is always a goodI had seen a trailer for this show before it aired and thought it was a good idea, and it is a good idea. Rebuilding schools is always a good idea, however this show does the impossible and ruins this idea. Between the coached kids, the seriously disingenuous " team" of builders and designers, I can't believe they have the ability to make an act of charity seem overproduced. I was expecting extreme home makeover and got an SNL parody of extreme home makeover. It's a joke.… Full Review »