Critic Reviews

It’s entertaining and engrossing.

In the light of Monday morning, a lot of what goes on in Red Widow is probably going to seem pretty silly. But shows like this are all about the chemistry, and the chemistry between Mitchell and Visnjic is everything you'd want in an essentially unequal relationship between a recent widow and the megalomaniacal drug dealer who can end her life at any moment.

Mitchell’s coolly understated performance makes it all slightly more believable and worth a few episodes to see where it leads.

The thriller elements are mostly nonstarters, but the show does offer some genuine pleasures, thanks to the overqualified cast. [8 Mar 2013, p.73]

Only Visnjic, immaculately groomed and vaguely continental, seems to understand that this over-the-top story requires not only a constant flame to boil the plot but a flirtatious sense of fun. [11 Mar 2013, p.45]

Visnjic's smooth and mysterious turn in just a handful of scenes instantly emerges as the best thing Red Widow has going for it. That's either the sign of a series with fundamental flaws, or the roots of a show that will only get better as it goes.

Red Widow isn't as compelling as Last Resort was in its early episodes. But it's appreciably better than those other two. Still, consumer confidence in Red Widow's staying power should be rightfully suspect at best. And in Sunday's second half, the premise already shows some signs of unraveling on the road to potential ridiculosity.

All told, there's enough here to stick around a little while, but this is one of those premises almost designed to strain plausibility over time.

[A] very silly mid-season drama.

Executive producer Melissa Rosenberg has crafted an off-putting start to a series that may have worked better in the Netherlands.