The CW premieres The 100 on Wednesday March 19, 9 p.m. ET. The futuristic series based on an upcoming book series by Kass Morgan is executive produced by Matthew Miller, Jason Rothenberg, Bharat Nalluri, Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo. The following are reviews from TV critics around the web, compiled by B&C.
“Saying that a show plays on two levels can seldom be taken quite so literally as in The 100, a better-than-average CW sci-fi drama that splits its story into two halves: The 100 young people of the title, who’ve been jettisoned down to see if they can re-inhabit a nuclear-ravaged Earth and establish a society,Lord of the Flies style; and the adults above on a floating space station, wondering how long their resources will hold out, in what amounts to a poor man’s Battlestar Galactica.”
—Brian Lowry, Variety
“The 100 has a lot of interesting things to play with in terms of its narrative and world-building, but it chooses to gloss over them. There are whispers of class struggle and of injustice, but those things aren't as interesting or sexy as radioactive butterflies.”
—Allison Keene, The Hollywood Reporter
“With its well-developed premise, its interest in broader philosophical themes, and its avoidance of cable-level gore and violence, 100 feels more like a throwback to the old Star Trek than like an extension of CW's teen obsessions. And as such, it could be one CW show the whole family can enjoy.”
—Robert Bianco, USA Today
“There are, to be sure, some suspenseful moments and effective sequences. (Homemade knives occasionally give it the air of a 1950s juvenile delinquent film.) There are luminous butterflies to marvel at and strange beasts to contend with, and maaaaybe there are some sort of human survivors.”
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times
“Like so many of those ’90s sci-fi shows, its obviously terrible elements distract from a core that’s surprisingly thoughtful and mature. In that way, it feels like the kind of show a handful of people will turn into their favorite show ever, then sing the praises of for the next several years whenever the subject of beloved canceled series comes up.”
—Todd VanDerWerff, A.V. Club
