Critic Reviews

As the show progresses, it only gifts viewers more brilliant character moments, shocking reveals, and haunting performances. Clear your Sundays this spring for Mare of Easttown because it’s that damn addicting. ... Mare of Easttown‘s magic is that it evokes these classic crime dramas [Twin Peaks, Broadchurch and The Silence of the Lambs] while bringing something new: a raw authenticity that makes you realize that at the center of every murder mystery are human beings getting hurt.

Winslet is phenomenal at carrying the spirit and theme of the show on her shoulders too. ... This poignant and human drama—compelling as all get out with its murder mystery too—suggests for all the L’s we take in life, we can still choose to live as if the past is the past and small, but meaningful victories are always within reach.

It’s the first true must-see drama of 2021, an excellent ensemble piece that works as character study, murder mystery, and actor’s showcase. Finely detailed in both setting and character, it’s a tapestry of a mini-series, a piece that centers one of our best living actors while also providing rich, complex characters for an extended ensemble of fantastic performers.

Great acting can be contagious, and here it’s tucked into every dark corner and secret. You don’t just watch “Mare of Easttown.” You live in its shadows.

Sterling drama. ... A seven-part series whose powers derive as much from its enthralling focus on that town and its society as from the unsteady life and career of its heroine, known simply as Mare, a police detective born and raised there. Kate Winslet’s eloquent command of the role is obvious from the outset. ... It’s a testament to the writing (Brad Ingelsby wrote the script) that no moment in this saga ever feels even remotely unreal.

As the twists and turns of the cases are revealed, it becomes a show greater than the sum of its already considerable parts. By the time you get to the revelation at the end of the second episode, you become less stunned by the news itself than you are by the computation of what it will mean for all involved. Everything and everyone is real and you care about every tiny part. Wonderful.

Winslet is in stunning form as the put-upon but never downtrodden cop and matriarch. ... This is high-end telly at its best, packed with intrigue, suspicion, horror and reluctant heroics.

Mare sets the scene so vividly that the murder mystery almost isn’t even necessary. These characters, and this town, are enough to command our attention. ... This slow burn may take a little time to heat up, but just give it a chance. It’s well worth it.

"Mare of Easttown" is a riveting and compelling series. I devoured the five episodes I had access to and was ready for more.

Though it may sound pretty grim, Mare of Easttown never feels like overkill or "tragedy porn," as they say. Instead, sadly, it just feels nauseatingly realistic. ..... It's both a physically and emotionally demanding role, and the certifiably excellent Winslet delivers an Emmy-worthy performance if there ever was one.