ABC premieres Resurrectionon Sunday March 9, 9 p.m. ET. The series is based on the novel The Returned by Jason Mott. The following are reviews from TV critics around the web, compiled by B&C.
“Dealing with thorny issues of religion and faith while wrapped in a central existential mystery, the show’s real challenge will be how long it can explore the notion of a child returning from the dead, unchanged, 32 years later, and keep it dramatically contained, given what that would truly mean in today’s wired, digitally connected world.”
—Brian Lowry, Variety
“Last year brought us two very good shows from Europe, In the Flesh on BBC America and The Returned from France on the Sundance Channel. What set them apart from equally fine shows like The Walking Dead was that they were more about the metaphysics of popping back to half-life from the grave than a focus on rotting flesh and feasting on living humans. Resurrection, premiering Sunday night, gives it the old college try, but it is pretty much dead on arrival, and I don't mean ‘Walking DOA’ either.”
—David Wiegand,San Francisco Chronicle
“There are good reasons to watch Resurrection—the cinematography is often beautiful, and some of the acting (particularly from Smith and Fisher) is good—and it’s unfair to compare the series to a French show that just happens to be very similar. But it’s hard to look at Resurrection and not see all of the nerve that broadcast networks have lost.”
—Todd VanDerWerff,A.V. Club
“ABC's newest drama has enough issues of its own to sort out but suffers in comparison to the brilliant French series, The Returned, as both share nearly the same premise. Those who never saw The Returned when it aired on the Sundance Channel may like Resurrection, but are otherwise advised to stream the original on Netflix.”
—Tim Goodman,The Hollywood Reporter
“But at several points, Resurrection feels like the kind of show that might have been better served by culling subplots and making it into a miniseries or a movie.”
—David Hinckley,New York Daily News
