The Following: Season 1

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 423 Ratings

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5.8

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5.8	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 423 Ratings

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The Following

Now Playing: The Following

Season Details & Credits

FOX | Season Premiere Date: January 21, 2013

Starring: Annie Parisse, Kevin Bacon, Natalie Zea

Summary: Retired FBI agent Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) is pulled back into service to find escaped serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy).

Creator: Kevin Williamson

Genre(s): Drama, Action & Adventure, Suspense

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Season 1 Episodes

tbd
S1:E15. The Final Chapter
Air Date: April 29, 2013
tbd
S1:E14. The End is Near
Air Date: April 22, 2013
tbd
S1:E13. Havenport
Air Date: April 15, 2013

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Robert Bianco

Jan 21, 2013

Some plot twists seem implausible at best, others are overdone or gratuitous. But some implausibility comes with the horror/suspense genre, and there's no question Williamson has mastered it--just as there's no question that the match of wills between the wounded Bacon and malevolent Purefoy is exceedingly well played. Read full review

David Hinckley

Jan 21, 2013

If you can make it through Monday's first episode of Fox's much-anticipated new suspense drama 'The Following,' you have some intense, but high-quality, television ahead. Read full review

Curt Wagner

Jan 21, 2013

[Purefoy's and Bacon's] performances--and scenes that focus on Carroll's killer minions that I won't talk about lest I spoil things for readers--are the strongest parts of the series and overshadow the weaknesses. Those include numerous plot holes and some sketchy logic, plus Williamson's annoying habit of beating us over the head with the Poe references. Read full review

Uncle Barky Ed Bark

Jan 18, 2013

This is a genuinely scary and unsettling series. Read full review

Matt Zoller Seitz

Jan 21, 2013

Nothing in this pilot promises how fascinating the show will ultimately become, and unfortunately, the show is more efficient than truly good. ... The first four episodes contain no aesthetically pleasing shots or sequences, just tedious coverage of talk and action, and too many of its 'shocking' moments are dependent on visual/aural shortcuts. ... Nevertheless, The Following fascinates, thanks to soulful lead performances by Bacon and Justified's Natalie Zea (as Carroll's ex-wife) and the nervy way it develops and sustains its central flourish. Read full review

Verne Gay

Jan 18, 2013

The Following is a bummer of significant proportions. Not that it's bad--it's not--but it's bleak, sordid, blood-spattered and creepy (though not necessarily always "creepy" in a good way, like "The Walking Dead"). Read full review

Hank Stuever

Jan 21, 2013

Despite its dour atmospherics and some attempts at higher-caliber acting from Kevin Bacon and a large ensemble cast, The Following is a trite, gratuitously violent exercise in still more stylishly imagined American horror stories. It is filled with melodramatic sleuthing that you've seen over and over. Enough is enough, isn't it? Read full review

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User Score

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5.8

User Reviews

horacep3000

Jan 31, 2013

This show is very good. Interesting, suspenseful, and well written. Kevin Bacon does a great job as lead. Leaves you waiting for the next episode each week.

3 of 10 users found this helpful37

SlyckNickChick

Mar 24, 2014

You would think how far can a story line go with a serial killer and followers and not run out of story lines,(meaning stabbing, shooting, strangling etc..) but I am impressed every week how the show has grown and I love the acting it is phenomenal!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

forrubin

Mar 5, 2013

The first episode like "do no harm" was promising, sick, twisted but cool. however, it's starting to become dumb and frustrating to watch mainly b/c kevin bacon's character is so woosy, always one step behind the killer, almost like a 1/2 pint no 1/4 pint Jack Bauer. I keep thinking that ifThe first episode like "do no harm" was promising, sick, twisted but cool. however, it's starting to become dumb and frustrating to watch mainly b/c kevin bacon's character is so woosy, always one step behind the killer, almost like a 1/2 pint no 1/4 pint Jack Bauer. I keep thinking that if Jack Bauer was involved, he would've kick this killer's arse in less than a day. like in few minutes by waterboarding him to confess etc. Kevin is just this clueless trying to do good but always little too late. I guess everyone can't be like Jack, but still kevin's slow response to most things makes it a turn off to watch.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

shae

Mar 16, 2013

This show started off with promise, but has quickly turned frustrating. It is so easy to predict what is coming and who is the one that is going to turn on them. It is frustrating that Joe always has the upper hand and the FBI never seems to get even the simplest things right. They makeThis show started off with promise, but has quickly turned frustrating. It is so easy to predict what is coming and who is the one that is going to turn on them. It is frustrating that Joe always has the upper hand and the FBI never seems to get even the simplest things right. They make them look really dumb on what seems a continual basis...they can't possibly get everything wrong all the time? I think this will be short lived in our home.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

Cyberghost

Apr 30, 2013

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. When I 1st heard of this show, I was quite excited, I thought FOX might
come up with a new, innovated crime drama that pushes the edges of what
we have seen so far. Suffice to say this was far far far from that.

Right from the 1st episode you know this show is stupid. This
situations presented are so far fetched that they at times just make
you laugh rather than anything else. A serial killer who manages to
charm 100+ followers into organising themselves and carrying out
coordinated attacks......all while being locked up in jail. If that's
hard to swallow the police response to this will leave you gagging.

You would think that a nation wide band of crazy serial killers would
warrant some sort of elite task force or something of that sort, but
instead we have a small group of barely 5 people who seem to be
managing everything.....badly. They are assisted by Kevin Bacon's
character, your standard bad-ass do-gooder who is the center of
attention and has a bunch of 1-liners. Together they manage to
accomplish next to nothing.

As the story progresses the plot gets sketcher and sketcher, characters
start dying like flies. You would think that would add a sense of
realism to the show, but honestly it is just annoying. You find that a
character you liked and who's story you wanted to keep watching just
ends up getting murdered rather casually. By the end of the show most
of the characters are dead and you feel like you've just seen a crappy
slasher flick.

All that being said, the show is still entertaining, in the absolute
basic sense of that word, like how watching watching clowns shoot
plastic arrows at each other is entertaining.

To sum up, don't expect much from this show, however if you want to
kill some time, it'll do that for you.

(Season 1 review)… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

omegadoom

Mar 26, 2013

I really, really want to like this show, but since the premiere episode, the story lines have become too outrageous. Are the FBI, local police, and US Marshals really that stupid? For example, in the most recent episode, two US Marshals who decide not to wear body armor walk nonchalantlyI really, really want to like this show, but since the premiere episode, the story lines have become too outrageous. Are the FBI, local police, and US Marshals really that stupid? For example, in the most recent episode, two US Marshals who decide not to wear body armor walk nonchalantly into gunfire, while another stands behind a door only to get gun down when the followers shoot-up through the door. Most people with a half a brain would not be standing behind the door. Carrolls lawyer-- A smart person would contact the FBI authorities for protection from Carroll's followers, instead she agrees to Carroll's demands when her life is threatened? How in the world did the prison warden convince those responsible for Carroll's transfer (prison guards, camera operators) to turn a blind eye to his escape? Another example: Joe escapes in a helicopter leaving a large city. Are we to believe that the FBI, FAA, or other government entity lacks the resources to track a helicopter in the sky? The FBI, with all the resources, send only Ryan Hardy to supervise the transfer of Clare to another location. What they couldn't spare one or two FBI agents, or at least contact the local authorities to help with the relocation. There are just too many implausible scenarios to convince any intelligent viewer to just blindly accept what is happening on screen.… Expand

6 of 8 users found this helpful62

seriesscout

May 7, 2014

ADHD TV. With the series "24" started it all. Series where each second / minute a new surprising twist occurs.

It is believed "X" as an accomplice. But it is not. Not yet. Later maybe, but think about it then again different. At the end she turns he / she might still by, or is the / theADHD TV. With the series "24" started it all. Series where each second / minute a new surprising twist occurs.

It is believed "X" as an accomplice. But it is not. Not yet. Later maybe, but think about it then again different. At the end she turns he / she might still by, or is the / the smartest, the even pulling the strings.
Anything can happen. Every moment. Just horrible. Unbearable illogical.
Example: The poor kidnapped child would be totally stupid already, not to remember what happened. Alone dese fact is unreasonable for the spectator.

Kevon Bacon overtakes my opinion the same fate as Christopher Lambert. A good movie (Lambert: Highlander 1) in the filmography, the rest then scrap. Which was actually the only good movie with Kevin Bacon? It does not matter.

The Following is outstanding bad. Can be useful in the Film Academy, as a cautionary example of how not to do it.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

SEE ALL 153 REVIEWS

Seasons & Episodes

58

Series Overview
Season 3

tbd
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: March 2, 2015
Season 2

44
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: January 19, 2014
Season 1

62
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: January 21, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E15. The Final Chapter
  Air Date: April 29, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E14. The End is Near
  Air Date: April 22, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E13. Havenport
  Air Date: April 15, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E12. The Curse
  Air Date: April 8, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E11. Whips and Regret
  Air Date: April 1, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E10. Guilt
  Air Date: March 25, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E9. Love Hurts
  Air Date: March 18, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E8. Welcome Home
  Air Date: March 11, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E7. Let Me Go
  Air Date: March 4, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E6. The Fall
  Air Date: February 25, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E5. The Siege
  Air Date: February 18, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E4. Mad Love
  Air Date: February 11, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E3. The Poet's Fire
  Air Date: February 4, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E2. Chapter Two
  Air Date: January 28, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E1. Pilot
  Air Date: January 21, 2013