Critic Reviews

The gorgeous art direction make this great fun, and Rhys Meyers plays his part with such blood-slurping, mouth-wiping gusto that even a dentist could love him. [25 Oct/1 Nov 2013, p.94]

The show has a knack for Godfather-style plots and counter­plots, as well as for sixties Hammer-horror violence that doles out gore and suffering strategically: a dollop of blood here, a severed head there. There’s a bracing wantonness to the writers’ inventions here.

Watching this conspiracy, class warfare and romantic indiscretion collide makes for a hugely engaging show, all the more so because of the lushly photographed Victorian settings and droll dialogue.

Its aspirations and its execution are perfectly in sync; there is no way that Meyers could overact, or, indeed, not act enough, that would not suit the material.

The show has a lot going on and it isn’t always easy to follow, but for the most part it’s stylish, sexy and smart.

Grayson/Dracula and his pals sound closer to characters from a '30s film than a 21st century TV series. But over time, as our modern ears adjust to the melodramatically declarative style, the antiquated dialogue enhances the other-worldly tone of the series.

All dark shadows and gloom, there's a comic-book vigor to the series, and the narrative contortion of a soap.

Rhys Meyers already has his fans, but he’s likely to win over skeptics as this new Dracula makes a seduction out of death.

Lead writer Daniel Knauf, who created HBO’s “Carnivale,” has tweaked Bram Stoker’s classic tale in delightful, if heavy-handed ways.

Like “Hannibal” (another NBC drama built around an antihero with a peculiar diet), this series pushes boundaries in terms of gore, torture and sex, flourishes that feel both organic and perhaps a bit less jarring given the fantastic setting and situations.