The eight-episode revival of FX’s acclaimed darkly comic crime drama “Justified” has scored rave reviews amongst critics.
The eight-episode “Justified: City Primeval” mini-series has pulled in an 89/100 on Metacritic which makes it the fourth highest scoring show of the year so behind only the third season of “Happy Valley” at 93, “Succession” S4 & “The Bear” S2 tying for second at 92, and “Barry” S4 at 90.
It comes in just ahead of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” S2 & “Rain Dogs” with 88 each; “Schmigadoon” S2 at 87; “Beef,” “I’m a Virgo” and “The Other Two” S3 at 86; and “The Last of Us” and “Poker Face” at 84.
Set eight years later and adapting another Elmore Leonard short story for its narrative, the new series sees US Marshal Raylan Givens now a part-time father to his 15-year-old daughter in Miami. He is soon drawn to Detroit where the criminal known as The Oklahoma Wildman (Boyd Holbrook) has managed to escape punishment thanks to his attorney (Aunjanue Ellis).
The original “Justified” series was always a high scorer on Metacritic, drawing scores that hit a peak of 91/100 for its memorable second season. Here’s a sampling of review quotes:
“In every respect, Andron and Dinner’s show is an ideal blend of the then and now, and that proves true all the way through to its finale, whose late surprises are so perfectly, satisfyingly thrilling that one can only hope they’re confirmation that this reboot is the start of a new, long-running Raylan Givens return engagement.” – Nick Shager, The Daily Beast
“Showrunners David Andron, Michael Dinner, and many others from the original Justified team did the impossible — they continued their hit show without betraying its legacy and, more importantly, told a compelling story that felt necessary for the characters and the audience.” – Marvus Shorter, Consequence Media
“‘City Primeval’ doesn’t merely justify its existence, it makes one wish that FX could find a way to insert Raylan Givens into other Elmore Leonard books in the future. He’s that rich and complex a character. ‘Justified’ may not officially be back, but let’s hope that Raylan sticks around for a while” – Brian Tallerico, The Playlist
“It turns out there was more to say about Raylan Givens, specifically about who he is as a father, so even if the crime element wasn’t the show at its best, there is still a purpose to City Primeval. And that’s more than can be said about some of the other revivals Hollywood has trotted out over the last decade. Read full review” – Kaitlin Thomas, Paste
“The series surrounding him is quite good and solidly expanded upon, but it lives or dies on his shoulders. Thankfully, with each ensuing hour, Timothy Olyphant goes out of his way to remind us how much we’ve missed him in this world.” – Josh Spiegel, Slashfilm
“Justified: City Primeval” kicks off with a double episode on July 18th and runs through August 29th on FX. Episodes will begin airing the next day on Hulu and on Disney+ with Star.
