Critic Reviews

Despite this silly and derivative setup, the pilot is actually a lot of fun. The performances are uniformly good and there are moments of promising depth to balance all the peppy hair-swinging, abs-flexing dance numbers.

We've seen it all before, but it's still fluffy fun. [10 Sep 2010, p.82]

The formula's a little too familiar, the pilot a tad dull. But Michalka's a big talent and for that reason, Hellcats has potential.

The cheerleader drama Hellcats isn't nearly in such danger of taking itself seriously. A brunet Ashley Tisdale makes a speech about how cheerleaders are athletes who deserve respect, and then we get to move on to the triple handsprings in crop tops.

Yes, audiences should beware not to let their eyes roll too far back in their heads at the fantasy concept of a) swapping scholarships midsemester and b) a protagonist who wows everyone in sight (known as the "Mary Sue" character in fan fiction parlance). But once the concept is firmly established, Hellcats makes a graceful backflip, with multilayered characters that defy expectations.

For all its formulaic predictability, though, this show has an acerbic self-awareness that may defuse the cynicism you may bring to it.

The end product should be called Hellkittens--not bad, but its tiny claws neither grip nor rip. [13 Sep 2010, p.47]

Played partly tongue in cheek, the show's premiere isn't quite unabashedly trashy enough to completely qualify as a guilty pleasure, but one can see it developing into that.

Is it must-see TV? Perhaps not, but it's a lively and light addition to The CW lineup and pairs well with the unabashed silliness of "America's Next Top Model."

In the larger picture, Hellcats has the deceptively tricky mission of taking what has been a 90-minute idea in most other incarnations and stretching it into an ongoing series. But it serves up plenty of eye candy to enhance the ride, so hey, gimme an M for Marti!