| 100 |
New York Post Linda Stasi
So what is there to like about this show? The same thing there was to like about "The Sopranos" and "The Shield" - great writing, insanely good acting, deeply troubled and deeply layered characters and a plot that will keep you glued to your seat. |
| 90 |
The New York Times Alessandra Stanley
"Thief" pays homage to all the conventions of a traditional thriller and weaves into it complicated issues of guilt, race and family. It's a little like some of the better dramas on HBO, but finds its own unorthodox way. |
| 90 |
Washington Post Tom Shales
A stand-up, standout piece of work, one that works wonders on a seemingly tired genre. |
| 90 |
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
Creator-writer Norman Morrill's drama is so taut and his approach to the genre so sharp that the only significant complaint is that the first "season" is only six episodes. |
| 88 |
New York Daily News David Hinckley
"Thief" brims with strong, potent performances. |
| 83 |
Entertainment Weekly Gillian Flynn
Braugher [has] never been better... rarely has a character hopped onto the screen feeling so completely real. [31 Mar 2006, p.51] |
| 80 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
The storytelling and performances are peerless in their intensity.... At the same time, there may be too much going on here for six episodes to do this show justice. |
| 80 |
Baltimore Sun David Zurawik
Braugher's performance as Atwater is intense, scary, seductive and astonishing in its range of emotions. It leaves little doubt that he is still among the best actors ever to grace the medium. |
| 80 |
Variety Phil Gallo
Like plots on "Hustle," "24" and "The Shield," there's a bit of incredulousness that comes with each caper. But with persuasive writing, sharp visuals and editing, as well as a steady directorial hand, "Thief" is always convincing. |
| 80 |
Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm
Thief is in a different league, simultaneously intense and flamboyant, propelled by Braugher, who's even better here than in Homicide: Life on the Street. |
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman
"Thief" doesn't levitate with genre-busting genius, but it is very FX, which means it's very real and well executed, a series that doesn't pander. |
| 75 |
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
The minute "Thief" begins running tonight on cable's FX, television reclaims its best actor. |
| 75 |
Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy
[A] smart, hard-edged new crime drama. |
| 75 |
San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum
"Thief" is a worthy addition to [FX's] schedule. |
| 70 |
Village Voice Joy Press
Hopefully this overkill of plot twists is just series finale syndrome in reverse--an opening-episode gambit to snag viewers--and the show will settle down to work on its more subtle elements. |
| 70 |
Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd
It benefits immensely from the presence of Braugher, at long last in a role that, like that of Det. Frank Pembleton on "Homicide: Life on the Street," suits his particular intensity. |
| 70 |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
"Thief" offers strong moments aplenty, but what it lacks are strong connections, both between those moments and among some of its characters. |
| 63 |
People Weekly Tom Gliatto
This is all well done, and it's a great-looking production, but the weight of the drama keeps tugging toward a side plot about Braugher's 14-year-old stepdaughter. [10 Apr 2006, p.35] |
| 60 |
Slate Troy Patterson
The show would probably be too ponderous to enjoy if Braugher weren't an actor of tremendous restraint. |
| 60 |
Salon Heather Havrilesky
As a character study of one man, "Thief" works, but it's going to take a lot more than that to pull us into this very dark, very unforgiving story. |
| 60 |
Wall Street Journal Dorothy Rabinowitz
It requires a certain patience to stay with "Thief." |
| 60 |
Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker
Watching Braugher, who won an Emmy for Homicide, proves highly satisfying. But there's a big hitch: the maddening show around him. |
| 50 |
New York Magazine John Leonard
We don’t yet know if Thief will go anywhere surprising. |
| 30 |
TV Guide Matt Roush
Bores by being relentlessly glum. |
| 30 |
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
It walks the walk of Important Series Television, but no matter how hard it tries to be gutsy and existential, it rings hollow. |
