Bored to Death

NewsdayVerne Gay

Bored sometimes lags and drags, as if it took a few tokes, too. But when it's funny--and Bored certainly can be--it's a winner.

Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm

Ted Danson recurs as a skewed version of himself on Curb, and on Bored to Death, he's a pot-addled cross between Seinfeld's Mr. Peterman and Donald Trump. What a pleasure to find some humor in a culture that makes that guy a hero.

Wall Street JournalDorothy Rabinowitz

HBO's Bored to Death sneaks up speedily, an eight-part comic enterprise that's soon transformed into flat-out inspired comedy.

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

HBO sent out three advance episodes of Bored to Death, and by the third one (also the best one) I felt confident that Schwartzman was exactly where he belongs--in Brooklyn, in a cafe, watching, and worrying.

SalonHeather Havrilesky

Yes, Bored To Death may be a parody of noir, or maybe it's a dramedy that dips into detective novel tomfoolery, but most of all, it's a story that revels in the realm of those strange overgrown children who use artistic pursuits to justify their weak little whimpering selves.

Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd

It is a bit like Martin Scorsese's "After Hours," filtered through the sensibility of a Whit Stillman and sprinkled with "Flight of the Conchords"--and yet it feels new, because it is so completely itself, consistently itself, a mix of romance, adventure and stoner comedy (there is a lot of pot about) that never abandons the world the rest of us can recognize.

TimeJames Poniewozik

Bored to Death is good, very good--but it's pilot isn't, so it wouldn't be terrible to miss it or see it late.

The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley

Bored to Death is as idiosyncratic and delightful in its own way as “Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Entertainment WeeklyClark Collis

We're totally hip to the fact that the real reason to watch remains Ted Danson's titanically louche magazine editor.

San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman

The series gets better with each episode, and the characters become funnier and more interesting when you come to know (or pity) them along the way.

Chicago Sun-TimesPaige Wiser

In the end, it all amounts to pretty much the same thing: a half hour with a self-sabotaging wit. A nice side effect is that both "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and Bored to Death make you feel better about yourself.

Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray

The pilot's a little slow. But a few episodes in, I found I wasn't bored a bit.

Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart

In other words, don’t hate it immediately just because it isn’t “Curb,” because if you love “Curb” you might eventually like Bored to Death.

The New YorkerNancy Franklin

Not all the tweaks in the plot work well, but most of the series’ flaws are masked by the excellent casting and the good writing for three central characters.

Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin

If the imitation is pale, it's also competent. And Schwartzman's wistful but inept romanticism is hard to resist.

PopMattersDaynah Burnett

These political hiccups are unfortunate, but not deal-breakers. Bored to Death is undeniably smart, and so it could very well be laying the groundwork for all these wincing moments to be properly unpacked by an apt post-modern femme fatale (mom?).

SlateTroy Patterson

At various points, Bored to Death seems nicely restrained, curiously deadpan, and just flat. It is moderate, and it is middling.

Washington PostHank Stuever

The result is a mildly alluring dark comedy. Schwartzman is difficult to like, but he always has been. The show is lifted greatly by "The Hangover's" Zach Galifianakis as Jonathan's strange friend, Ray, a comic-book artist with a complementary set of his own strange-but-cute neuroses.

Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall

Bored to Death (created by real-life novelist--but not private dick--Jonathan Ames) as a whole is so dry in its comedy that there's very little margin for error. (Like the "Star Trek" movies, I found myself enjoying the even-numbered episodes and struggling through the odd-numbered ones.)

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

Sunday's premiere is a little dull, but future episodes have more entertainment value. Still, you have to be a fan of neuroses humor for Bored to have much comedic impact.

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

Danson is so typically deft that he makes Christopher's raging egotism and arrested development engaging. Zach Galifianakis gives a similarly nuanced performance as the put-upon best friend of magazine writer and would-be detective Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwatzman). Danson and Galifianakis, however, can't quite make up for the fact that Ames and his various pursuits are juvenile and predictable.

TV GuideMatt Roush

I’d like to say the self-consciously literary Bored to Death lives up (or down) to its title, but it really doesn’t even leave that much of an impression.

Slant MagazineAdam Keleman

In its current attempt to capture the meandering lifestyle and mindset of thirtysomething losers, Bored squanders its noir framework and aesthetic prospects, consequently inducing yawns.

Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron

Bored prefers droll to funny. Almost implicit in its tone is the attitude that viewers should be satisfied merely hanging out with the literati of New York, flawed though they might be, and not hope for compelling stories and charismatic characters, as well.

VarietyBrian Lowry

Ultimately, Bored feels like a rather wan, younger, low-stakes version of Woody Allen's "Manhattan Murder Mystery"--and winds up demonstrating the gap between literature and television.

USA TodayRobert Bianco

Bored is TV that's tailor-made for people who hate TV. It won't make you laugh, but it will make you feel hipper than the room, and for some, that will be enough.

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

He's supposed to be a neurotic slacker who escapes into this cool new world, but even there, he still comes off as a neurotic slacker. You want smack him and tell him to go sit down. And if you did, he probably would.