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Saving Grace
SERIES: TNT, Monday 10:00p (60 minutes)


5.0

based on 23 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?

based on 58 votes
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Get more information on this show at TV.com.

Official Show Site

Starring Holly Hunter, Leon Rippy, Kenneth Johnson, Bailey Chase, Bokeem Woodbine, and Laura San Giacomo

An angel named Earl (Rippy) tries to save an Oklahoma City detective (Hunter) from self-destruction.

GENRE(S):	Drama
CREATED BY:	Nancy Miller
FIRST AIR DATE:	July 23, 2007

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Christian Science Monitor Gloria Goodale

Only an actress of sublime abilities could lift this material from the downright silly to something intriguingly watchable.

Variety Brian Lowry

The show's blessings, however, are more earthy - beginning with Hunter, who oozes anger, sexuality and irreverence, sometimes all at once. San Giacomo is perfectly cast as her friend and sounding board, and Johnson, Rippy and Woodbine all deliver solid support, with the jailhouse sequences among the show's best.

New York Magazine John Leonard

It relies on intelligence and resourcefulness rather than divine providence.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen

Writer/creator Nancy Miller ("Any Day Now") imbues the show with touches both subtle and a little overwrought but the divine "Grace" still offers stronger characters and better stories than many other summer series.

Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan

The good news is that the smartly written "Saving Grace" is not a mess. In fact, it's one of the most distinctive new shows of the year.

Salon Heather Havrilesky

Saving Grace is my second-favorite cable drama this summer ("Mad Men" being the obvious front-runner), thanks to the excellent cast (Kenny Johnson and Laura San Giacomo, among others), and the fact that Hunter plays Grace with so much authenticity and scratchy sweetness.

San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman

All told, this series is pleasantly unexpected, taking chances on TNT when it seemed the channel's DNA wouldn't permit that level of risk. If the writing continues to hold up, viewers could be in for a better ride than the one Hunter is already taking them on by herself.

San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum

Grace has a world of promise with thoughtful writing by Nancy Miller ("The Closer," "Any Day Now"), an intriguing take on the nature of faith and a sheer force-of-nature performance by Hunter.

Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman

What we have here is a show Hunter has produced acceptably well and acted with immense, believable intensity. It's a fairly gritty TV role served with a spoonful of lightheartedness.

TV Guide Matt Roush

Self-consciously edgy while flirting with cosmic schmaltz, Saving Grace is overdone, but not run-of-the-mill.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland

This is not a shoot-the-moon, wholly unique story, but it's comforting and thoughtful.

Los Angeles Times Mary McNamara

[Hunter] captures well the worn-to-the-bone, irritable and slightly skanky buzz of a person living on too little sleep and too many medicinally applied Cokes, while infusing her character with a gentle heart and a sudden, dazzling smile. But much of the rest of the show is tediously familiar.

Flak Magazine James Norton

The acting is strong, the music is good, and the show's not likely to leave many viewers lacking an opinion.

Slate Troy Patterson

The details of the play between Hunter and her co-stars are engrossing enough that you're glad to let the big arc sail over your head.

Entertainment Weekly Henry Goldblatt

[The writers/producers] don't seem to have faith that their antiheroine and setting are compelling enough on their own, so they've added this superfluous otherworldly layer to keep views intrigued. [27 Jul 2007, p. 58]

Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker

Hunter is so good that she may save this erratic show.

Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall

The pieces shouldn't fit together--Earl's celestial presence with Grace's raging sex life, discussions of metaphysics with police procedural plots--but somehow they do.

New York Post Linda Stasi

The ensemble company, including the always-wonderful Laura San Giacomo, who plays her friend, never misses a beat. Too bad this series--which tries too hard--misses a stanza or two.

Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron

The main reason to watch can only be Holly Hunter.... Although she's a prisoner of the material, her performance is so good that it can distract you from this otherwise simplistic take on a complex issue.

Washington Post Tom Shales

At present it suffers from a problem that predates not only television but radio and theater as well: Too many cooks, or at least too many ingredients bubbling to a busy and irritating boil.

USA Today Robert Bianco

The real sin here is the way the show wastes Hunter, a terrific actress with a proven ability to make tough women compelling.

Wall Street Journal Nancy DeWolf Smith

We're left with a heap of hocus-pocus that will offend some viewers and seem pretentious or silly to others.

LA Weekly Robert Abele

Hunter seems to mostly flail in a show that is too unremarkable for her talents.

The average user rating for this tv show is 5.0 (out of 10) based on 58 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kerri U. gave it a10:
Excellent television show ... with incredible actors. It's very well done and definitely not like anything else out there. Incredible!

Queen P. gave it a7:
Almost really really good but it just misses somehow

Christina G. gave it a10:
Wonderful show! Bring on the new episodes!

Linda H. gave it a10:
I just watched the entire season over 2-3 days (thanks to Amazon Unbox). I live in Oklahoma City, where the show is set... And I think this show is fantastic. I agree that only Holly Hunter could pull off this character. Grace's rough edges are annoying but she is true to form for some women I know in this town. The only thing that could make her more believable as an Okie chick is to wear a mullet. (Please, NO!) I love the metaphysical elements and Earl. I have actually had people in my office in the past year who were using plastic soda bottles for spitting tobacco juice. Gross but -- it happens! Ten stars from me for SAVING GRACE. Looking forward to Season 2!

Cathy K gave it a3:
I wanted so bad to like this show because I love HH, and I will continue to watch it, but it is so shallow. The writers never take time to develop either the personal spiritual journey of Grace or the criminal cases; so as a result, both suffer. The spiritual journey is by far more interesting than the mundane crime solving storylines. And, what's up with last night's line of her asking a dog if he was God? Please, people, just because it's God spelled backward doesn't mean you have to be so hard up that you make it part of the script.

Duane J. gave it a9:
Like the not so perfect cop that's still good at her job. The angel is funny at times and a good touch to the show.

Kelly S gave it a9:
This show hit me like a freight train! Love it....Holly just inhabits the character of Grace. I can't imagine another actress pulling it off. Grace is such a flawed person, but somehow it all works. I do agree the story lines are weak, but the interaction of characters is phenomenal. Can't wait for season 2.

Saving Grace SERIES: TNT, Monday 10:00p (60 minutes)

Saving Grace
SERIES: TNT, Monday 10:00p (60 minutes)