Critic Reviews

The dialogue often crackles; the educational aspect even makes exposition fun to watch. Zahn is quite good, and the supporting cast already has an entertaining ensemble energy.

It’s an interesting conceit rooted in real behavioral science.

Watch this one just for Zahn’s performance.

Mind Games is less complicated than Killen's other shows--which raises its chances until you factor in the dreadful time slot it will inhabit. Yet even though Zahn is a lot to take while having his bi-polar rants and motor-mouthed moments of anxiety, plus Slater's dubious end-of-the-pilot twist, there are elements in play with Mind Games that make it intriguing.

This compromise version emphasizes some of Killen's own weaknesses — he's not a procedural guy, as the cases on "Awake" tended to demonstrate.

Mind Games is the kind of dramedy that could give you a brain cramp.

Christian Slater and Steve Zahn play brothers who manipulate people into making decisions, but the characters never register as a pair to root for, and their talents aren't so much dazzling as they are dull. [28 Feb 2014, p.65]

[Slater's] new show also needs to find its voice. Still, if there is something in its premise that recalls the straining-for-effect, too-clever-to-start setups of series like USA's "Psych" and "Suits," the first of those managed to run eight seasons in the end, and the latter has already been renewed for a fourth.

At its heart, Mind Games is a case-of-the-week procedural with some serialized elements, but it's so dense with chatter there may be no mind tricks strong enough to convince viewers to stay tuned.

The deeper problem for Mind Games and creator Kyle Killen, whose Lone Star and Awake collapsed under similarly complex stories, is that it's awash in explanation, not just of the premise, but of the plot.