Critic Reviews

Gracepoint may not be superior to Broadchurch, but makes its own mark as fall’s best new broadcast network drama series--even if in some ways it’s not. Tennant’s estimable talents are the driving force of both versions, with each of the surrounding casts helping to keep him on point.

As a raw police procedural, Gracepoint thrives thanks to legitimately unsettling twists, sharp revelations that focus our attention on new suspects. But it's in Carver and Miller’s competing worldviews that the show finds something more substantial to work with.

Even with an occasional made-for-TV-movie flatness, Gracepoint seems poignant and complex and even frightening enough to sustain interest all over again.

Gunn and Tennant are flat-out fantastic in Gracepoint. The supporting cast, including Nick Nolte at maximum haggard levels, is compelling. They’re so good, it might take a while to notice that you’ve seen this story before, even if you haven’t seen “Broadchurch.”

At the end of each episode, you want to see what will happen in the next one. For a murder mystery, that’s a pretty good start.

Gracepoint is artsy both in its painterly look and in its treatment. The story rolls out with daring forbearance, almost as if it's transpiring in real time.

The pilot so closely resembles the original, it renders the endeavor redundant.

The sense of loss, shock and mourning is still artfully conveyed. American TV rarely depicts the emotional fallout after a murder, preferring to focus on the investigation. Here, both elements are equally important. But Tennant seems tired, and you can understand why. He’s been all over this shore before.

A smart, well-written and absorbing psychological drama about the effects of a horrible crime on a close-knit small town.

A compelling mystery, it maintains a measured pace, inviting viewers’ patience.