Karen Sisco

The best new network show of the season...It's bright, it's dark, it's stylized, it's realistic - in short, I haven't been this enthusiastic about a dramatic network show since "CSI" and haven't been as happy with an ABC show since "Alias."

Sisco smolders but never flames up or burns out, played by Gugino with a steady, unflinching calm that reflects a character who never makes presumptions and who's willing to see the shades of gray in typically black and white situations, like any great Leonard hero or heroine. [1 Oct 2003, p.61]

A witty, mature drama that can hit both the chest and the heart.

Karen Sisco [is] also blessed with the presence of superb character actor Bill Duke ("Red Dragon") as Karen's imposing, no-nonsense boss. [1 Oct 2003, p.1E]

If, while keeping its dialogue suggestive and surprising, Karen Sisco dramatizes the eccentricity, and the drinking problem, of its central character, rather than merely her sexiness or her skills, this show could thrive. But is Ms. Gugino up for it? With such a small cast -- only three characters are fixed at this point -- much will depend on Ms. Gugino's performance, on her drunken mistakes and on her cellular soliloquies.

The dreary, leaden dialogue is the real crime in this drama. Around every Miami corner in the early episodes, you catch the writers in the act of assaulting viewers with self-importance and stilted banter. [1 Oct 2003, p.E9]

A very conventional, old-fashioned cop-private eye caper, the only difference being the gender of the officer in question. [1 Oct 2003, p.F-7]