Killjoys, Syfy’s new science fiction show about space bounty hunters, debuts Friday at 9 p.m. The 10-episode series, created by Lost Girl creator Michelle Lovretta, stars Aaron Ashmore (Smallville), Luke Macfarlane (The Night Shift) and Hannah John-Kamen (Viva Forever!). The following are reviews from TV critics around the web, compiled by B&C.
“It is all rendered with a steampunk sauciness that eschews slick effects. The frequent fight scenes don’t much care about credibility. They, like the rest of this entertaining show, favor a comic-book sensibility. Real-life bounty hunting is an unpleasant job, but in this deep-space world it seems like one of the coolest careers available.”
— Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times
“Frankly, the only moderately ambitious thing about the show is the set design — immersed as it is in brownish hues and grunge — and even that feels borrowed from any number of sources blessed with more expansive budgets or simply a heftier dose of wit.”
— Brian Lowry, Variety
“However, it takes more than a few good ingredients to whip up a memorable dish. Killjoys sounds enticing at first, particularly at a time when sci-fi entertainment is thriving. Unfortunately, its execution is more of a buzzkill.”
— Whitney Matheson, The Hollywood Reporter
“All of that description is essentially the problem with a show like Killjoys. Its pilot has to take so much time setting up and explaining the rules of its world that very little’s actually devoted to diving into the characters themselves, and their dynamics. Of course, the hope would then be the next three episodes would make up for that absence… but they don’t.”
— Merrill Barr, Forbes
