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Waco

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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56

USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Ratings

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5.4

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5.4	Your Score
5.4	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Ratings

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Waco

Now Playing: Waco

Waco

Series Details & Credits

Paramount Network | Release Date: January 24, 2018

Summary: The six-part series chronicles the events that led to the 51-day standoff between the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh (Taylor Kitsch); the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF); and the FBI, including lead FBI negotiator, Gary Noesner (Michael Shannon).

Genre(s): Drama, Movie/Mini-Series

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Recent Episodes

tbd
S1:E6. Day 51
Air Date: February 28, 2018
tbd
S1:E5. Stalling for Time
Air Date: February 21, 2018
tbd
S1:E4. Of Milk and Men
Air Date: February 14, 2018

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

56

Positive:

5

Mixed:

9

Negative:

1

Critic Reviews

80

New York Magazine (Vulture)

Matt Zoller Seitz

Jan 23, 2018

Season 1 Review: It doesn’t go nearly as far as it could’ve, given what a quietly charismatic star it has in Taylor Kitsch as David Koresh, and how immediately human all of his followers seem. All that being said, this is still a necessary and sometimes powerful series, particularly in the third hour, which depicts the initial assault on the compound that led to the two-month siege. Read full review

75

The A.V. Club

Alex McLevy

Jan 23, 2018

Season 1 Review: In every case, the actor elevates the material, raising passable storytelling to a more compelling and charismatic level. Read full review

70

The Hollywood Reporter

Dan Fienberg

Jan 24, 2018

Season 1 Review: Waco has a clunky couple episodes that fail to really depict the passage of time cleanly and probably will leave many viewers confused as to which agencies are making which blunders, even if they have their initials on their jackets. The third episode gets back into the initial raid in harrowing, well-directed style and it may give me enough momentum to watch the second half of the series, just to see if David Koresh ever does anything wrong. Read full review

50

The New York Times

Mike Hale

Jan 23, 2018

Season 1 Review: Waco is a workmanlike summary of events that paints a largely, some might say excessively, sympathetic portrait of Koresh and his followers. This is likely because of the demands of dramatic compression rather than any propagandizing on the part of the show’s makers. Read full review

50

Salon

Melanie McFarland

Jan 24, 2018

Season 1 Review: Skimming the treatment Koresh’s manipulative dark side in Waco, a story that puts the humanity of the Branch Davidians and that of Koresh at its forefront feels ... weird. And this is but one of several niggling oversights in a story that begs for a new consideration. Read full review

50

RogerEbert.com Nick Allen

Jan 24, 2018

Season 1 Review: [Waco] does its best when working on the tension that grows between the Branch Davidians and the ATF. ... With the cliche dialogue and the dead-air drama within the group about David’s power over women played by Riseborough, Benoist and Garner, they struggle to make the series more than a half-intriguing non-fiction spectacle, albeit with Kitsch’s strong performance guiding the way. Read full review

30

Los Angeles Times

Lorraine Ali

Jan 24, 2018

Season 1 Review: Waco isn't skillful enough to weave all the opposing perspectives here into a three-dimensional story, where the ultimate victims are the innocent folk betrayed by their leader and their government. It's so busy delivering Spam-sized chunks of ham-fisted dialogue defending the misunderstood Koresh, it loses all those other critical threads that make Waco a cautionary tale for all sides. Read full review

SEE ALL 15 REVIEWS

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5.4

User Reviews

10

Gaianmind

May 10, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Surprisingly well acted and directed, a sad story of a government overreaction and a series of blunders that got 24 children murdered, this could have been handled any number of ways but the way the state chose to handle it by turning it into a public mass murder publicity stunt that was a siege on what was mostly misled innocent people.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

8

SeussMyTub

Jun 17, 2019

A searing TV miniseries about the siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. David Koresh is treated with much more sympathy than in previous versions. The FBI and the ATF using military tactics against civilians is what ignited many militias and separatists groups, which led to theA searing TV miniseries about the siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. David Koresh is treated with much more sympathy than in previous versions. The FBI and the ATF using military tactics against civilians is what ignited many militias and separatists groups, which led to the Oklahoma City Bombing. Well made and worth a watch.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

7

geewah

Jan 8, 2021

A decent limited series of a sad and dangerous event in American history. Kitsch & Shannon are great in the lead roles.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

3

SKD

May 30, 2020

I wanted to like this series because it tells an interesting story about an obscure piece of history, but I was constantly taken aback by how sympathetic it was to David Koresh and the gang. Everyone knows that the ATF and FBI made serious mistakes during the raid and standoff that costI wanted to like this series because it tells an interesting story about an obscure piece of history, but I was constantly taken aback by how sympathetic it was to David Koresh and the gang. Everyone knows that the ATF and FBI made serious mistakes during the raid and standoff that cost lives, but these mistakes are used by the show as a pretext to absolve the Davidians of all criminality.

I’m trying to think of any other American citizen who can reasonably expect that they can make explosives and automatic weapons, f**k a 14 year old girl, kill the arresting officers, and not go to sleep in a jail cell that night. I’m coming up empty. Instead, the show runners turn on the tear faucet for the cultists, waiving around women & children and deeply held religious beliefs as literal “get out of jail” free cards.

It gets 3/10 stars from me. It looks good from a cinemographic perspective, but is otherwise a warped propaganda piece that turns criminals into victims.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

2

nj06

Apr 23, 2020

Total waste of an intriguing real-life story and an excellent cast. Third rate writing will ruin anything.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

1

PFCskippy

Apr 27, 2020

While the sieges at Waco and Ruby Ridge are contested ground, with each side claiming a different version of events, the story the writers present here neither shows one side's version nor the other's. Nor do they try to find some "middle ground", but rather jettison the stories from bothWhile the sieges at Waco and Ruby Ridge are contested ground, with each side claiming a different version of events, the story the writers present here neither shows one side's version nor the other's. Nor do they try to find some "middle ground", but rather jettison the stories from both sides along with the objective facts in order to use human tragedy as mere fodder for their own novel story. If you don't care about the historicity or factuality of the series, give it a go, but otherwise it's not worth the watch. This unfortunate case study demonstrates how even the best acting and cinematography cannot salvage a work when the apathetic narcissism of the writers exceeds their artistic license.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

0

tobor

Apr 26, 2020

It would have been a good show, and I am glad we actually got to see the poor murdered US citizens side of the story, instead of only the governments and the fake news narrative. The biggest problem is the revision of history. How come the commander in cheif that ordered the murder of closeIt would have been a good show, and I am glad we actually got to see the poor murdered US citizens side of the story, instead of only the governments and the fake news narrative. The biggest problem is the revision of history. How come the commander in cheif that ordered the murder of close to 100 US citizens is not in the film, or at least Janet Reno who Clinton passed the buck to?… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

SEE ALL 8 REVIEWS

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Seasons & Episodes

56

Series Overview
Season 1

56
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: January 24, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E6. Day 51
  Air Date: February 28, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E5. Stalling for Time
  Air Date: February 21, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E4. Of Milk and Men
  Air Date: February 14, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E3. Operation Showtime
  Air Date: February 7, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E2. The Strangers Across the Street
  Air Date: January 31, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E1. Visions and Omens
  Air Date: January 24, 2018