Reviews Policy

How TVLine Approaches Reviews

TVLine takes television seriously, and we know you do too. We approach our reviews thoughtfully to provide a fair, balanced, and informative critique. A good review should provide supported criticism, through the lens of a critic that promises balanced commentary. Television fans have an unlimited amount of content at their disposal, and TVLine aims to help you wade through the nonsense to find the next great series.

TVLine's reviews are honest and the opinions are 100% our own, without interference from networks, studios, and the like.

TVLine's dedicated and thoughtful approach to reviews has earned us representation on Metacritic in its television division. We are also a Tomatometer-approved publication on Rotten Tomatoes.

Scoring System

The TVLine scoring system awards a film a rating between A+ and F, with the critic being given leeway to make this call based on their personal reaction to the quality of the project. Naturally, the score doesn't tell the whole story, but it informs the reader, at a glance, if this is something they should check out.

Review Scale

With the exception of 'F,' all letter scores can be given a + or -.

  • F. Not just bad, but actively offensive to our sensibilities. A black mark on the medium of television. The people involved in making it should be ashamed. Avoid like the plague.
  • D. A flat-out bad TV show, marred by lazy writing, stiff acting, a misguided concept or all of the above. May have some stray redeeming qualities, but not nearly enough to bother watching.
  • C. Strictly meh. Either a mixed bag, with some positive attributes and some significant flaws, or just entirely unremarkable. Might be OK to put on while folding laundry, but nothing special.
  • B. A pretty good show that's worth watching, even if it has a few flaws that keep it from true greatness. If we were giving out Siskel & Ebert-style thumbs up, this would be a base-level thumbs up.
  • A. Excellent, brilliant, amazing, a must-see. If you asked us what shows we're into these days, this would be one of the first we'd rave about. Destined to end up on our list of the year's best shows.

We acknowledge that reviews are inherently subjective. This means that different TVLine reviewers may have very different opinions about a particular title depending on personal preferences, experiences, or tastes. Don't get lost in the discourse. It's important to remember that a review score reflects just one person's opinion. So while it can be taken into account when considering whether to see the TV series at issue, you should also take into consideration other reviews and opinions.

Embargoes and Review Copies

We respect all embargoes that are set by studios and distributors when receiving early access to screeners or screenings. We accept early access to view TV series to ensure our team has time to thoroughly vet a title ahead of release, and so our readers can make a fully informed decision on what to watch, and what not to watch.

To submit digital screeners or invitations to in-person screenings or press events, please email us at .

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