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October Road
SERIES: ABC, Thursday 10:00p (60 minutes)

October Road
Critic Score
Metascore: 23 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.6 out of 10
based on 25 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?
based on 130 votes
read user comments
rate this tv show

Starring Bryan Greenberg, Laura Prepon, Tom Berenger, Warren Christie, Brad William Henke, Evan Jones, Jay Paulson, and Slade Pearce

A young novelist (Unscripted's Bryan Greenberg) returns to his small hometown a decade after he left, only to find that his former friends there resent being used as source material for his book. Think of it as a CW drama for 20-somethings.

GENRE(S): Drama
CREATED BY: Josh Appelbaum
Andre Nemec
Scott Rosenberg
FIRST AIR DATE: March 15, 2007

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...

50
Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy
Alternately engaging and annoying.
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50
Kansas City Star Aaron Barnhart
It’s like “Men in Trees” ... for men.
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50
Entertainment Weekly Ken Tucker
Achingly sincere, deeply unbelievable.
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40
Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker
An uneven and often pretentious drama.
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40
San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum
It has its moments, particularly as it progresses.
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38
People Weekly Tom Gliatto
Is there anything here that Bruce Springsteen hasn't already sung about? [19 Mar 2007, p.39]
30
Variety Brian Lowry
[It] feels like a Hallmark movie stretched into series form.
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30
Los Angeles Times Paul Brownfield
Here, I guess, is a dude's version of an ABC chick show.
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25
New York Post Linda Stasi
The acting is OK, but not so OK that you can overlook their model-good-looks. I mean, no town can be that full of perfect specimens. But you would have thought Hollywood couldn't be so full of bad writers either.
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25
USA Today Robert Bianco
An appalling combination of precious and pretentious.
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25
New York Daily News David Hinckley
A sort of perfect storm of bad writing.
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25
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
A rote TV drama.
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20
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
I kept waiting for the unexpected beat, the surprising plot riff, the inverted cliche , but they never came.
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20
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
The stories trudge along like a semi on a steep uphill grade. Taken as a whole, the show looks more like something pasted together for potential demographic appeal than anyone's dramatic vision.
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20
Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall
All of the characters speak in the same exposition-heavy voice; their individual quirks... are too calculated to be interesting; and the soundtrack is both too on-the-nose... and, for the most part, 10-15 years too old for the characters.
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20
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
"October Road" is perhaps one of the most clumsily plotted, illogical drama pilots to be produced in years.
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12
San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman
It's a coming-of-age story so overwrought and emotionally predictable, it's -- what's the word here? -- unwatchable.
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10
Newsday Diane Werts
There's nothing unexpected here, and certainly no adventure, just who's sleeping with whom, and who's the daddy, and why they're still so juvenile, and how Tom Berenger ended up in this soapy soup.
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10
The New York Times Ginia Bellafante
The series... exists as the kind of bad soap opera that quickly allows you to see what makes a good one.
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10
Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm
[It] can pack more cliches into 10 minutes than bad old WB dramas had in an hour.
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10
Washington Post Tom Shales
The show is as commercial and mechanical as an entry-level Mercedes, but not as emotionally involving.
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10
LA Weekly Robert Abele
It almost seems to thrive on triteness and lack of cohesion.
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0
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
To put it mildly, and succinctly, it's appalling.
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0
TV Guide Matt Roush
The woeful sub-Dawson's Creek dialogue caused me actual pain.
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0
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
This wretched show not only features a lead character who is an unredeemable nitwit but dialogue that manages to be leaden, preposterous and pretentious all at once.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this tv show is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 130 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Emmie S gave it a10:
This is the most realistic show on television. I can relate to the characters as if they were my friends back home.

Tracy R. gave it a10:
I can't believe the negative reviews for this outstanding show. I think all of these reviews were from season 1 and the second season really was better than the 1st. But if these critics hate my favorite show on TV, I won't be reading them for advice any longer. October Road has everything I want in a TV show---great characters, interesting story lines, character arcs, talented actors, heart, family and friends who stick by each other in hard times and a terrific musical soundtrack that you can't sit still to. This show is like coming home to your old neighborhood once a week. It's a slice of Americana that doesn't exist on TV anymore among the cop, law or reality shows. October Road WILL make you cry, laugh and feel like you're among family and friends. WATCH IT!

Ali W gave it a10:
October Road is such a great show! Far more realistic than Desperate Housewives or Grey's anatomy. Don't tell me about towns of beautiful people. October Road is fresh and a lot more realistic than all the other horse puckey out there. Please ABC, renew October Road!

Anna L gave it a10:
This is the best show you're not watching. Don't listen to the critics, this show rocks!

Jill B. gave it a10:
Wow.... Are these the STEPFORD CRITICS? Complete robots. Watch season 2 everyone. Amazing talent and writing involved. Amazing fan base and mcu dimension.... LOVE IT!

Jane W. gave it a10:
October Road is one of the best shows ever produced. It is true to life, the characters touch are hearts and souls. The music is awesome, the writing is superb. This show must be brought back for another Season.

Amanda P gave it a10:
I love this show! I think the characters are great and the cast couldn't be more perfect!

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