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Nine, The
SERIES: ABC, Wednesday 10:00p (60 minutes)

Nine, The
Critic Score
Metascore: 81 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.9 out of 10
based on 29 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?
based on 40 votes
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Starring Lourdes Benedicto, John Billingsley, Jessica Collins, Tim Daly, Dana Davis, Camille Guaty, Chi McBride, Kim Raver, and Scott Wolf

Nine one-time strangers are now linked by a 52-hour period when they were held as hostages during a bank robbery. The show begins after the event occurred, and each week an additional ten minutes of the robbery will be revealed in flashbacks. At least there's no hatch.

GENRE(S): Drama
CREATED BY: Hank Steinberg
K.J. Steinberg
FIRST AIR DATE: October 4, 2006

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker
There are few answers in this excellent premiere, but The Nine makes you want to find out.
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100
San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum
The way these characters interact and relate in the first hour is dazzling and involving without being self-consciously clever.
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100
People Weekly Tom Gliatto
This could be the fall's finest drama. [9 Oct 2006, p.41]
100
USA Today Robert Bianco
A satisfying, intriguingly complex ABC drama that emerges from the season's serialized pack as the best new show of the year.
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100
New York Daily News David Hinckley
"The Nine," starting tomorrow, is the show most people will want to discuss at the office water cooler.
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91
Entertainment Weekly Gillian Flynn
The biggest worry with The Nine is that its mystery will start to crumble after a dozen episodes or so. But for now, it's one smooth, creepy, cool operation.
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90
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
Whether or not "The Nine" succeeds -- and, personally, I'm pulling for it -- it deserves credit for advancing the art of TV storytelling to new heights, both complex and rewarding.
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90
Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm
This season's best new show.
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90
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
Easily the best of ABC's overly similar, large-cast ensemble dramas.
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90
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
In a fall season full of lofty recommendations and solid, well-made pilots, it's the only series truly worth getting excited about.
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90
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
Though it has an almost flawless pilot, and one of the best casts of the season, how long will the writers be able to tease out the mysteries of those 52 hours without driving viewers mad?
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90
Arizona Republic Bill Goodykoontz
It's a fantastic show, neck-and-neck with Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip for best new show of the season.
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90
Baltimore Sun David Zurawik
The writing is daring, the editing dazzling and bold... this is prime-time storytelling that pops.
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88
San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman
What helps separate "The Nine" from others in this season's crowded field are stellar performances throughout and a steady, sure hand in the pilot.
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83
Christian Science Monitor Gloria Goodale
It will certainly make you wonder how you might survive such an event yourself - though whether that premise can fuel a whole series remains to be seen.
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80
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
Based on the pilot, [the] mystery promises to be surprising, psychological, and addictive.
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80
Variety Brian Lowry
The challenge, structurally, will be finding a way to keep these characters interacting (logic that already seems a bit strained in the pilot) as the incident drifts into the distance.
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80
The New York Times Alessandra Stanley
There is nothing supernatural behind the mystery, and there is no deep-rooted government conspiracy lurking behind seemingly mundane events. But suspense builds, personalities strengthen and change, and “The Nine” takes on a life of its own.
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80
Kansas City Star Aaron Barnhart
The first hour... hits you with a potent cocktail of action and intrigue.
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75
Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy
"The Nine" unfolds with an abundance of emotion-charged imagination.
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75
New York Post Linda Stasi
Sure, I'm in, but I'm not quite a hostage to the show - not yet, anyway.
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70
Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd
Without making any great claims for the show's depth, I do sense a desire behind the sensation and soap to investigate something significant, if deceptively simple: how life changes in a moment.
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70
Newsday Verne Gay
"The Nine" may well be the best of the crop - smart, clever and especially wise to the ways of this genre - but the challenge remains the same. This is work - admittedly often pleasurable work, but come 10 p.m. next Wednesday, we've got to do it all over again.
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70
Miami Herald Glenn Garvin
If you're willing to invest some time and brain cells, The Nine is an absorbing experience.
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70
LA Weekly Robert Abele
The Nine doesn’t quite feel like a Lost knockoff since its missing-piece, jigsaw-puzzle construct has a basis in reality: the unknowable feelings of those who have weathered personal crisis.
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70
Time James Poniewozik
The tense pilot suggests the series has a few twists up its sleeve and a cast up to the challenge.
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63
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
There's nothing wrong with "The Nine." It's just essentially a step above pedestrian.
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60
The New Yorker Tad Friend
Watching “The Nine” is like trying to do a crossword with only the Across clues. But it promises to reward our vigilance.
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30
Washington Post Tom Shales
It's not so much a narrative as a collection of character studies, and the characters aren't particularly fascinating.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this tv show is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 40 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jessica gave it a10:
I am addicted to this show. I can't wait to find out what actually happened in the bank!

Troy I gave it a10:
This show had me on the edge of my seat every week! Great acting, superb storyline, and excellent filming! Why noone watched it to give it bad reviews is beyond me....finally a show comes along with quality acting (second to Lost) and isn't cheesy like all the crime-crap out there and it gets cancelled..? Comeon' America...

Rod P gave it a9:
Don't cancel... It is the best show no one is watching.

penny w gave it a10:
A great show, lots of questions and a ecellent cast

Tanya G gave it a9:
An excellent drama with a superb cast. I know network tv is driven by ratings which add up to revenue from advertisers, but... PLEASE give this show a chance to build a larger audience. Rome (or perhaps I should say: Disneyland) wasn't built in a day! Other shows, both comedy and drama have been given the chance to grow; we're just asking for the same consideration for this well-written, well-acted series.

Clara N gave it a10:
A terrific show that deserved better from ABC. Initially I tuned in because of Tim Daly but got hooked on the story line and the rest of the cast. There are so many questions that need to be answered, they need to bring it back NOW.

jorge c gave it a10:
Best new show this season. Compelling characters (and actors), justified narrative structure, and well developed scenes. A joy to watch.

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