Critic Reviews

Breezy and fresh. ... “4400” promises drama without heaviness, and the pilot sets up various story points without feeling too portentous.

While 4400 may need to smooth down some of its more noticeable tone hiccups, it has set up a very interesting mystery with undertones of issues that are very relevant to 2021.

The pilot for 4400 doesn’t scream for your attention, it asks politely. But even though the reboot stumbles out the gate, its clever premise and subtle hints of its true potential will likely be enough to keep fans tuned in. At least for now.

It's sometimes soggy and silly, sometimes sharply insightful; sometimes a politically correct sledgehammer, sometimes waspishly funny. One thing that seems certain is that it's far more ideologically attuned than its predecessor. The original version certainly had a political bent, but only in a broad, traditionally sci-fi way: ruthless totalitarians bad, smiley-faced anti-totalitarians good. The new show is far more specifically tethered to the woke politics of 2021.

The storytelling is all about keeping them in the same room or so, sitting and talking to each other. It’s a dull visual approach, and brings out the corniness of the premise that needs to be distanced from for this to work.