Guilty Party (TV Series 2021) Poster

(2021)

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7/10
Why is everyone dragging on this so badly?
tracyleaogden24 October 2021
There is way worse out there.

You can tell just by the trailer it's not going to be some great drama whodunit so why critique it that way?

I think it is entertaining and there are parts of it that made me laugh. The lead actor is funny. I think it is worth the time.
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7/10
Better than most of what's on these days
ikata-4941722 October 2021
I admit I tuned into this show simply because of Kate Beckinsale. I'll try anything she's in, not that I always continue watching (e.g. The Widow didn't keep my interest). But I think this show has potential. They are just getting started and while several of the characters are cliché, I think it's worth giving the writers a few more episodes. It's certainly better than most of the crap on these days.
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5/10
They are wasting your time
john_d_payne-1526627 November 2022
There are so many series and limited run episodic shows to choose from these days that you really need to be careful what you dedicate your time to. "Guilty Party" ends after ten episodes with a cliffhanger, which implies that the show will be back for another season. I just finished the last one and was a little perturbed by the lack of closure. Then, I noticed that the date of the final episode was Dec. 2021. With no word on a second season, it's pretty clear that the show will not continue.

I wish that shows like this would either (a) warn us that the ending of the season is a setup for the next season, or (b) wrap up the story for each season and start and new storyline the following season. The first one is obviously ridiculous, but with so many new shows steaming, it is all but certain that most will not survive for a sophomore season. For a new, relatively low key show like "Guilty Party" to end its season with a cliffhanger shows complete disregard for the time that the viewer has committed to watching the show. I would not have watched this entire series had I realized that it would end like it did.

For me, this is a dealbreaker. Despite the ending, parts of the show are actually entertaining, and some the acting is pretty good. Kate Beckinsale does a great job with her character, Beth, who will do just about anything to advance her own agenda. A few of the supporting characters are interesting and funny in some places. I have to say that I was never bored by the show, so this combined with the writing and acting are worth 5 stars. However, this kind of ending for a show that obviously had little chance for renewal is unforgivable. I wish that I had chosen a less entertaining show that at least had closure.
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Have seen 1 episode so far...
DroogEditor4 November 2021
... and I really like it. Kate, why did you do so many Underworld etc. Movies? You are really funny! Watched this one episode after having seen Jolt, which I really enjoyed because of Kate's funny side. Well done, looking forward to more Guilty Party and funny Kate in particular. So, my review is still too short, so I will gladly repet myself, Kate Beckinsale is a talented comedic actress who can also do action, obviously.
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7/10
... really better than many have acknowledged
bjarias22 July 2022
... this would have been a much better production had it been tightened up making it shorter... it did not at all need to be five-hours-long (more-than two & a-half-movies) ... in fact, making it so-lengthy undercut-it

... and could-had they made her a-little-bit less-glamorous... that in addition would have helped sell-it... as-an-actor her-extreme-beauty's a-two-edged-sword... overall both KB & this series deserved greater-better-recognition-acclaim.
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3/10
A patchwork quilt made from better shows
trademarcdesigns14 October 2021
I've only watched the first two episodes, but I doubt I'll be back for more. This series has a patched-together quality about it, as if the creators took little bits and pieces - a character here, a plot device there - from other shows and tried to weave them into something, hoping it would appear new and different. It doesn't.

The basic plot - discredited journalist seeking redemption - has been done to death, and with bigger stars and better writing. The characters are all weird and quirky, but not in a very appealing way - most of them come across as fundamentally selfish and exploitative. They're not bad enough to be truly entertaining, but not good enough to make us care about them.

In short, I think this show is a waste - a waste of some talented (or at least competent) actors, a waste of money in terms of production costs, and a waste of time for anyone watching it.
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3/10
Decent for a while, then not so much
FeastMode10 July 2023
At times I found this mildly amusing. The story is semi-interesting. And the comedy writing mostly works. I specify comedy writing because I don't feel the same way about the comedic performances.

I love Kate Beckinsale. She's super talented and was my original actress crush. She's in so many movies I love and she's always great in them. But her attempts at acting goody and over-the-top don't work.

The show starts getting pretty dumb. And the farther in I got, the less invested I was. I had to force myself to finish it.

Even worse, I assumed this was a miniseries based on IMDb listing the year as "(2021)" instead of "(2021-" leaving it open future seasons. Instead I get a cancelled single-season show with no real conclusion. That's frustrating. (1 viewing, 7/9/2023)
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9/10
Unique and Quirky
skpn1235 November 2021
I have never seen a show that resembles this one - totally unique. I have no idea which shows my reviewers below are referring to....... my guess, they did not view the series at all......nothing on the market like it and I watch a l;ot ha ha ha.....

I will say, the loss of one start is because it appears to take a couple of episodes to get its positioning and identity clear but once it does, it flies. This is my experience with the majority of series but this is not a simple plot or genre so you will need to give it time. I struggle to define the genre - Perhaps black comedy with a worthy mystery and character evolution thrown in. It is absolutely hilarious and I have to admit I don't like many comedies. It is a contemporary 'Murder In The Building' vibe with very quirky characters played by a talented cast. Kate Beckinsale is of course the stand out but there are other very strong contenders with complex characters that are evolving before our eyes.

Each episode is fast paced and tightly scripted, adding new elements to the mystery. We are at Episode 5 and I still have no idea who the murderer is and the paternity aspect is similarly not obvious at all. I appreciate this. Nothing worse than picking the murderer in the first episode and watching the obvious clues play out.

If you enjoy this sort of genre you will not be sorry to give this creative and memorable series a go. But please review it for what it is not for something it isn't and was never intended to be.
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1/10
Unbareable
LVHermes21 October 2021
The script seems like random words picked up from a tombola. Nothing marries and nothing works. Interest is lost immediately. Beckinsale's completely altered lips can't express different emotions either. She just looks like a time frozen pic of Kim Basinger.
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10/10
Why all the bad reviews?
kq99914 November 2021
I cannot believe how many people do not like this show. Do they all know each other and had a get together called Let's Trash Guilty Party. One review even went as far as to say the person acting in Kate Beckinsale's part is not Kate. Very strange reviews indeed.

I found it to be very different from anything that is out right now and much better than a few shows and movies that have been released in the last few weeks. Nothing compares. It is a rare find and I just about didn't view the show due to the horrible reviews. Learned a lesson there.
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5/10
Good Acting... But It's More Of The Same
genious-3541314 October 2021
Maybe I've just seen too many TV shows, but it seems like studios are just trotting out the same formulas over and over, by trying them with different, big-name actors. Beckinsale is great and there are a lot of really impressive performances but it all just feels regurgitated.

It's too back that studios immediately nix any original and creative ideas brought to them. They all want to still to the same old things that have worked before. We want 'Mindhunter meets The Wire' or some other combination. A loser protagonist that is at rock bottom but has that one last chance - then uses someone who realizes they're being used but they go along with it and then, in the end... well, you know how this will end.
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Awful
lineart-1297316 October 2021
It just drags, poor writing, poor editing. Cloying to the point that you find yourself embarrassed hanging in there hopeig it might grow wings. And it was rated as a comedy to boot. Not.
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3/10
Awkwardly Mediocre
Almost_Soldout21 October 2021
That's not great at all. However, still watching that - it's like a bubble gum with your least favorite flavor. Still chewing but hate it :) Not the worst but oddly poor.
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5/10
A Montage of Farfetched
zorroaca14 October 2021
There is so much on TV these days... this would just take the space of something far better. Too many (you're kidding me) situations. A lot of the characters are half baked.
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9/10
Sense of humour required
kylievision20 November 2021
I think this show is a fantastic quirky must see and lol funny....hard to find in today's overwhelmingly flooded television market. If you love to laugh, have a quirky and sometimes dark sense of humour you will thoroughly enjoy this show. If you can't handle a female lead being hilarious with magically funny written scenes with great supporting acting roles then maybe you need to look in the mirror and realise you've missed the point and the fun!!
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1/10
I've never in life written a review but this is BAD.
funyou-1278631 October 2021
LAWD HAMMERCY... this is a horrible show. It's tacky, badly written, poorly acted, and just all around a waste of time. I have never written a review, but this one was so bad, I had to say something. I feel robbed of the time wasted watching this. It literally gets worse. I know it's supposed to be a comedy, but it's one of those they're not laughing with you type, but at you type deals. I'm on episode 4, and the whole episode is just ridiculous. Back to finding something to watch SMH.
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9/10
Jessica Fletcher on steroids! You'll love this quirky cozy by episode 4!
Stini8329 October 2021
After reading the mostly negative reviews for this show, I felt like I had to come to its defenses.

Yes, the first couple of episodes are a bit all over the place, as if they couldn't really decide where to go with it. Is it a gritty crime show, a drama, a comedy? Moreover, the main character ( a stunningly beautiful Kate Beckinsale gone blonde!!) is quite exasperating at times, especially when it comes to her personal relationships. So, like many other shows out there, you have to stick with it until it finds its tone, which you'll see happening by episode 3/4. When it does figure out what it wants and the plot gets going, cutting out the main character's family drama and focusing on the whodunit aspect of it all, Guilty Party is a hoot at some times, keeping you on the edge of your seat at others. The ridiculous situations that arise during the investigation are laugh-out-loud funny and the mystery is mysterious enough to keep you guessing. Last but not least, great acting all around as well as a great soundtrack! Give it a go!
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3/10
Where is Kate?
anita-stor14 October 2021
I have watched first episode and waited for Kate Beckinsale. Is there some other actress with the same name and surname, because I remember Kate Beckinsale from Underworld years ago and that reporter is not Kate Beckinsale.
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1/10
Guilty of sucking
Fancifulrealist27 December 2021
Terrible show. Beckinsale has never been a great actress, but she's worse now that she can't properly move her face.

The plot is boring, crass and pointless. If this is any indication of future content I'll be cancelling Paramount Plus.
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5/10
Made me feel worse the more I watched it.
devorect926 December 2021
I was intrigued for the first several episodes of this series. But as the series goes on, you just find yourself more and more down about the characters.

The deceit, the characters decisions, the story telling... It is a dark comedy "Who done it" story - but it feels like it becomes more of just a dark drama.

I ended episode 9 not feeling very positive or humored. I am in debate if I will be finishing it with the last episode that comes out next week.
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8/10
Really Enjoying This Quirky Show
hillaryrmarshall22 October 2021
Not sure why this gets so many bad reviews. The acting is excellent. There is good character development and the story is both intriguing and funny. I wasn't expecting to like it because I couldn't picture Kate Beckinsale in this role, but she's good and it's a very solid show.
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1/10
Guilty Party is predictable & mind numbing at best...
johncus-145103 December 2021
It's good to know that, if we have to leave Earth someday, we won't have to go without our kitsch. Forensics experts will be digging through the rubble of this fiasco for a long time, trying to discover why this accident called, "Guilty Party" was ever even made. How did so many of Beckinsale's lines fall flat? Why were Beckinsale's action scenes so corny, predictable, and unconvincing? Len Wiseman was obviously a big help to Kate Beckinsale's acting career guy as this is not even close to Underworld and Len's "saving the day" help is very much needed in Guilty Party.

In short, not worth watching.
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8/10
Not the hilarious type and that is great
AndSoForth12 December 2021
I'll start by saying I really don't get the hate on this one.

The score slowly went up as the episodes came out but I remember this series had a terrible score after episode one. Literally who gives 1 star to a series only after watching one single episode ? This should warn you about the lack of honesty behind the poor ratings.

Now about the series itself, I really enjoyed it from the get go, it surprised me on different levels with various types of humor and never did it take itself too seriously. I found it to be well acted. Plus the story is interesting beyond the comedy part. That's about all I'm asking for..

Give it a try - unless you're expecting a one joke per minute ratio because this is not it. But if you like anti-hero clumsy characters and situational humor, chances are you will like this one.
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4/10
What happened to Kate beckinsale?!?!
Gonnabe20153 December 2021
Unlikable lead. Unlikable secondary characters. Basically super stupid selfish characters. It's sad. When that dude calls Kate "you're so beautiful" I was like "did she write the script herself?" She looks terrible. Very poor quality plastic surgery.
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1/10
3 shows in and this just bad!
cdeanroane30 October 2021
For a show that is CBS it comes off more like something from the CBC. Since this is filmed in Canada maybe there is some CBC connection to this dumpster fire of a garbage show. It is just not realistic at all and the acting is just poor in this. Who ever gave this a green light to go in production was just an idiot. Once it comes down now to with so many channels all wanting to air new original content that crap shows like this go into production!
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