Gray (2023– ) User Reviews

Here and there

[psychhelp · 6/10 · 30 September 2023]

Season one started slow, none of the agents working with her showed a normal level of skill that usually these agents have in films. Gray was the one that had it. Sara is given an attention that isn't required in a similar setting, she isn't brought-up to it naturally. The whole series lacks a motility, and the only one that makes it is Gray. Is it a great series, I don't know, cause all the other characters are acting like NPC's and some with a small character defined roles. When it comes to veterans playing the secret service game, I like the Red film series and the Slow Horses TV series. This one is not a contender in that segment. It's a series that hopes to be many things with a unique take, and only fairly justifies it's intention. It doesn't go above and beyond. I am not a fan of cliffhanger's but it seems like a second season is already being filmed.

A little less conversation, a little more action please

[somethingreal81 · 6/10 · 5 October 2023]

You'd think a show about a former spy coming in from the cold and helping hunt down a mole would be action packed. But you would be wrong. Over the course of the (first and likely only) season there was surprisingly little action in this series. And I don't just mean action in terms of fight scenes or car chases. I mean very little actually *happens* in this show. The lack of action is especially surprising given that there were several plot lines that could have been further explored or developed but that were needlessly left unresolved at the end of eight episodes. I'm not sure if this was meant as setup for a second season, but given how underwhelming the first season was, I can't imagine watching a second. On the plus side, the performances were strong and it's always nice to see Patricia Clarkson, Rupert Everett, and Lydia West. They just deserve better writing.

Excellent

[jimmymonkey-15319 · 7/10 · 21 March 2024]

I see that some are not impressed by the show. It seems that the main basis for that is that it's claimed to be dull, etc. The only way that's true is if one is looking for a James Bond style action show. It's not that. It's much more in the style of classic slow burner spy movies. Not that I thought it was slow burner-the tension was broadly kept bubbling along and not as predictable as one would expect. There was only one part of one episode where I wondered where the plot went, but it climbed out of that hole fairly quickly. I was originally watching this while working out, but the last few episodes I binged on the couch, bc I wanted to see what happened. It's a good spy show, it doesn't imagine a female spy is physically stronger than a man larger than her, it does image, though, that she's very silver and sneaky, so using her ostensible weaknesses as strengths, which I think came off well. The only issue I have is that I can't tell if the season ended or if my platform is missing a show, etc. I got to episode 8, and it did not feel like a season ending.

Love love loved it

[kaytomo · 7/10 · 27 October 2023]

So ....... Wasn't sure about this series, heard a fe mixed reviews and then decided to watch it for myself. I watched the first episode ....it finished and I found myself needing to watch another one straight away. So binge watched the whole season and got to say personally I loved it. I really Hope there will be a second season as still some things left unanswered at the end of this first one. Love the character of gray . I like Rupert Everett, not really seen him anything of recent. Took a while to warm to him at first but like figuring his character, is he good or bad?? Hoping for season 2.

Has potential

[freddiebmay · 7/10 · 12 October 2023]

The concept, apparently from David Baldacci, has promise: a CIA spy hiding for 20 years for being suspected of treason comes out to find a mole and renew family ties.

Patricia Clarkson is a good actress but could not quite pull off the physicality of Cornelia Gray, whether in physical fights or when using psychosexual weapons. Two of the three heads of Cerberus were caricatures, almost stooges. The creator of Cerberus also lacked the menace with which he was characterized by Gray. Also lacking bite was his lackey, played by Tim Rozon, who was not bad as a protagonist in the sci-fi/fantasy series Wynona Earp or Surreal Estate.

The relationships between Gray and the better-fleshed-out head of Cerberus, Kevin Tagg (played by Rupert Everett), and between Gray and the rookie, Sarah Beckham (played by Lydia West), whose father many believe was killed by Gray, kept the narrative going. I wouldn't mind a second season.

Dear America

[annemarie-petersen · 6/10 · 25 March 2024]

I wish American TV shows would stop with cliffhangers or sorts. Like just wrap up a series and then make a better reason if you get renewed. It's easy. Just follow the Scandinavian method of TV.

Great show. Which annoyed me by it's ending so I knocked off a star.

Because I have to write more in order to qualify I will say this. Patricia Clarkson is weirdly transcendent and you can't take your eyes off her. Rupert Everett freaked me out that he could possibly actually be like that, but I felt some of the other characters were sadly not delved into enough. Actually we don't get much back story which I think is another fault. Maybe I should take another star off. I'll think on that.

Strange. Good premise but loses momentum

[goldenswim · 2/10 · 22 January 2024]

This has good potential and a good premise with a spy coming back from self imposed exile to find a mole but then it goes downhill fast.

The flawed characters all lie constantly and undermine each other. They are also just plain weird but I did love Tag's house and guest house.

It is hard to identify with Cornelia because we never see who she really is and she is just weird. The way she constantly touches people is just strange and the aging femme fatale angle is creepy.

If you like answers... Don't bother watching because the answers are not there. It isn't even a cliffhanger. Just dragging things out.

Absorbing and thrilling

[infoclaireb · 9/10 · 27 March 2024]

Unsatisfactory ending aside, I loved this absorbing and thrilling spy series. It was such a treat to see so many intriguing and varied female roles. I found Patricia Clarkson mesmerising as Gray and the laid back menace of Wendy Crewson's character, Gold, was ever-present.

I took a while to settle into Rupert Everett's role of Tagg but the subtle humour and slow energy added to the suspense.

I've read reviews bemoaning the lack of physical action compared to other thrillers. I enjoyed the lack of physical noisy fight scenes and car chases. Gray killing people with long distance shots while having a calm discussion with Sara was chilling and more thrilling than a fist fight.

Let's hope that a second series is forthcoming. There is so much potential here.

Boring and uninteresting

[maximustituswf · 4/10 · 11 March 2024]

I really wanted this to be so much better. Was looking for an intelligent and exciting show to watch and thought I found it with Gray.

Made myself comfortable and pressed play on episode one... Thirty minutes later I gave up. Nothing interesting or exciting had happened. A secret organisation has lost 4 agents in a month and they pick up a former agent who has been retired for 20 years. All that drags on forever and not one moment did I feel drawn in or even slightly interested in any of the characters we get to see. No one is convincing in the role they play, nor does any of them make you curious to know more about them or their story. Talking about story, that's probably the biggest issue at hand; it's all so absurdly unrealistic that it made me feel like saying "stop insulting my intelligence" (and I'm definitely no genius).

I feel giving it 4 stars out of 10 is being pretty generous, but I guess I'm on that mood.

Off to find something better.

I Love this and giving it a '10*

[zckkndqrh · 10/10 · 30 September 2023]

I Love this and giving it a '10* To the person that said 5 reasons why this is stupid. Canuckteach featured review ,who probabbly watcvhed 1 edpisode and swithed off and obviously hates women in the lead role you speak complete and utter nonsence I loved it .Reading your previous reviews and you dont seem to like these type of shows my advice ois do not watch them and do not review them people like you have got shows like this capped .Now i am in to episode 4 and i am hooked great acting from all the cast well written and great story line it deserves more thasn 3 stars 6+ so far but people like me need shows like this .everyone has an opoinion if i dont like a show or a movie i will not review it unless its worth a second season ,I respect other people may like them.

Not worth watching!

[fraserweir · 2/10 · 17 March 2024]

So this series started off slow with not much reason behind it. Nothing really made sense or even seemed believable, how can an Old age pensioner take down a man in his early thirties in his prime. The story itself was quite poor throughout the episodes nothing kept you on the hook or even interested. The show just seemed to have lacked any effort, and then there's the ending with no real answers leaving it very disappointing. No real conclusion or any reason to leave you satisfied. There was some potential but the execution really fell through. If your looking for something to watch, keep looking this isn't it.

A cheap imitation of LaCarre's Tinker Tailor

[Cinephilos · 3/10 · 18 March 2024]

The basic premise of Gray is that a super spy in retirement is brought in to spot the mole in the CIA, which is an exact replica of the premise of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The suspects are the three heads of the branches of the agency, just like Bill Haden, Esterhase, Roy Bland in Tinker, Tailor. Even the structure of the CIA resembles the basic construct of Tinker, Tailor where the "lateralism" is adopted after Smiley's departure from MI6. And the greatest resemblance is that there is a mole in the highest echelon of the CIA.

LeCarre beautiful adorned the basic premise of Tinker Tailor with rich character developments of all the important characters, which go beyond the world of espionage. Gray, on the other hand, has none of such deep character development.

The American flag flying at Gray's house looks so corny and cliche. If she was such a patriot, what was she doing hiding from the CIA for forty years?

I must speculate the story was written by artificial intelligence. You put in some key concepts and the computer puts the story together. It lacks the soul.

Well worth the watch

[seasidemuggle · 10/10 · 16 March 2024]

Brilliant, twits & turns with scope for another series.

Recommend the watch.

Great plot & each episode was as good as the last episode.

The characters were brought in, easy to follow the characters.

Disappointed the 8 episodes went by too quickly.

It has been lined up for further filing, leaves a few things unanswered.

Watching in one day, they are 40 odd minutes long - shame not an hour.

This is different, not seem similar before - thank you thank you thank you for a great storyline. Maybe the next series will have the same characters as well as new ones with more plot twists.

Great acting.

Promise unfulfilled

[yrobk · 4/10 · 12 March 2024]

Such potential, a great story premise, a bit of inspiration from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. But the acting stinks, along with costumes (spot the terrible wig), crappy accent from Rupert and a miserly budget. I don't think the actors can be blamed because there's some quality in here, except for the Derek Zoolander wannabe, he is just terrible.

The casting of Rupert Everett is weird. He's better than this but seems horribly miscast in this case, straining his voice to hide a terrible American accent.

It's got a 4 for the story but everything else drags it down. I'll still watch it but it could've been so much better.

Surprisingly good, simple spy story narrative with potential.

[qcsdwk · 10/10 · 8 January 2024]

Gray, a series that shows what you can do on a small budget. It's a great spy story where everyone is after each other and the secret remains hidden behind all the lies, manipulations and human interactions until the final scene. If you like Slow Horses or Homeland Season 1 & 2, you will like Gray. Just let the story sink in. An espionage story that manages with simple and realistic representation and without CGI or other special effects and yet grabs the viewer with unexpected twists in the story and takes the viewer on an exciting journey. I would like to see a second season and hope that Lionsgate thinks about giving the creators a bigger budget. The creators of the story and the actors show positively that you can create a good spy story using simple means without getting lost in the technical aspects of modern filmmaking.

5 reasons why this is stupid....

[canuckteach · 3/10 · 30 September 2023]

1. The CIA Higher-ups decide to reactivate Gray (Patricia Clarkson), middle-aged, slightly-built lady to find a sleeper agent. Gray has been in hiding for 20 years, but they finally found her running a quiet flower shop. Sure.

2. The CIA (actually a Special sub-branch) lost 4 'secret agents' in a month. Crisis! Someone is leaking identities! Oh, no? Sorry: the Cold War is over. In these kinds of battles, most 'blown' agents are held & exchanged for other captured agents. That includes Jewish and Muslim agents in Israel, btw. Dead bodies are NOT currency.

3.. And who'd be stupid enough to eliminate 4 in a month? Talk about advertising you have a 'mole'.

4. Gray claims she has CONTACTS. Really? I thought she was in hiding for 20 years.

5. Ms. CLARKSON, fine actor, is built like an old maid Library Teacher at an Elementary school. We keep hearing talk about how lethal she is-the most dangerous thing she could do would be taking too many blood-thinner pills. Did I mention she also has a thug agent trying to follow her around (because they don't trust her?).

I am afraid this show is another in a long line of poorly-written American 'spy/suspense/thriller' series, with no bearing in reality whatsoever. Writers are not basing their storylines on real cases, or actual systems/structures, but on plots contrived previously BY OTHER WRITERS. OR maybe Screenplay software? Makes sense. None of these guys seems to know more about real Intelligence Agents or Agencies than I do, and all I did was read a few books by Le Carré or Forsythe! Apple needs to hire those Scandi or Euro-Noir writers, who seem to know what a real thriller or espionage story looks like.

dull, 2nd rate acting, clarks limited range, pass

[sheldonjacobsmail · 5/10 · 25 November 2023]

Its just not believable this waspy grandmother is the CIAs only option to root out a mole, and the lack of action is needed as it would be doubly unbelievable if the main character could do anything if any action or violence arose. Clarkson's narrow range on full and tedious display - the troubled neurotic she seems to push in every role she plays is just not believable as a rare and insightful operative . Dialogue is dull, little tension, weak secondary acting with with minimal subplot and a tedious been there done that main plot. The 6/10 reviews it seems to be getting say it all - Ive taught screenwriting at college - this is hard to watch and I gave up eventually.

LOVED IT

[refiyaturner · 10/10 · 16 March 2024]

About time female older spy. Brilliant in every way. Twists and turns with no answers is brilliant. Lead lady plays a great liar, deceiver and master manipulatir. The psypathic insinuation with obsessive tendency to get what she wants and then gets it. I hope they develop her further in the second serious to manage more complex characters that are sinister and watch her navigate them. The sara girl is played well but is coming off really weak by being manipulated by everyone around her.. i find her frustrating because she cant see beyond her what she thinks she knows of the people close or not to her. Misguided is what i would call her and to her own downfall. She may yet represent to us how we are all capable of terrible things even though we are wholsome on a nature.

poorly written, badly directed, and completely miscast

[stratfranks · 1/10 · 19 March 2024]

This program is poorly written, badly directed, and completely miscast. The premise is sheer nonsense, the "plot" - if you can call it that - it barely lays the bones of a story, the incompetent director constantly underplays what little drama resides in the badly-written script. The dialogue is tedious and banal and none of the actors are even remotely believable as the characters they play. It's so bad at times that the overwhelming emotion expressed by the cast seems to be embarrassment - they are, by and large, a talented cast, but they're left high and dry by the mindnumbing stupidity of the lines they're forced ti regurgitate. How does garbage like this get commissioned? It looks like a show put together by hustlers rather than producers, which is of course exactly what it is - a complete and utter mess.

Too much conversation

[SimpleView1 · 1/10 · 17 March 2024]

A promising start with few good lines placing Patricia Clarkson as an ever so dangerous killing machine, all turns out to be a chit-chat machine.

Little action and literary in every scene "scared" three heads of an autonomous CIA unit have virtually no understanding of how spy network functions. It is reflection of passing the buck and spying on each other. It is not even politics but shameless executives holding on to top positions.

Patricia is actually old and while she delivers calmly all the lines, hard action should not be expected. She is a master strategist (nobody else can compete) and ruthless killer (with scissors). She "remains still" and has pieces on the board to lure the mole in the unit!!!

Lydia west has a good role but she is not the best suited. Other actors are weak and really disappointed at the casting process.

Lydia in 90% of times is in same pair of jeans (!!) and Patricia always has some kind of "glow" on her face. Basic needs to be set right.

Why can't there be a logical end!! Netflix probably wanted a "limited budget" series with usual fillers.

Did not hook me in

[gtwdp · 3/10 · 20 March 2024]

The first episode is so slow, I stopped at 36 minutes and found something else to watch. There was nothing in the half hour, that I watched, that grabbed me to stay interested. It bored me, there was no action to grip viewers (in my opinion) and every single character were mono-syllabic. I couldn't stay engaged. There are so many crime dramas out there, getting the viewer hooked in the first 15 minutes, that is the way to go. I also feel we are being asked to provide an unrealistic amount of 'characters' when we don't like something. I've explained above, what more would you like? Perhaps a lot of emojis?

Dreary and dull

[munns30 · 5/10 · 20 March 2024]

Well, I hardly think you're able to call this a thriller, as surely that requires some thrills. This definitely has...none. It's bland and boring, and so incredibly slow. Glaciers move quicker than the plot pacing here!

I'm all for talkie dramas, but the dialogue needs to be able to stand up. This script falls down 90% off the time, leaving seasoned actors looking amateurish at best, incompetent at worst.

I'm not sure the dreadful mis-casting helped matters either. Patricia Clarkson (usually a favourite of mine) was as wooden as spoon, with about as much depth. But by far the strangest casting was Rupert Everetts'. I have to ask if his character was supposed to be comedic? Because, we'll...Honestly! I couldn't believe who I was watching, and how badly he was performing.

If it is renewed, I will not be tuning in.

Nothing is resolved in the end. Don't bother!!!

[dreamcatcherdb · 2/10 · 3 April 2024]

There's a certain arrogance in assuming that by leaving a ludicrous number of unresolved issues you are guaranteeing yourself a second series- and stuff the audience.

This over- stretched poorly scripted, often badly acted, poorly cast and horrendously accented waste of time was actually bearable up to episode 4 but after that the longing for the denouement leaves you grimly hanging on. But to no avail because literally nothing is really tied up at the end. You're left with a memory of endless posing by the main character merely subverting the male secret agent sexual aggressor trope, a bizarre performance from Rupert Everett and a scantily supported and flimsy plot going nowhere. Don't waste your time.

Could Have Been So Much Better

[lucasarts-88947 · 5/10 · 29 March 2024]

I watched the first two episodes and thought that this was going to be a brilliant series and a great idea looking at how the past catches up on an old spy and how this has effected her life and her fight to clear her name. Some great casting and characters. The story developed well until about the middle of the season when there was some serious lack of checking the story and big hole in it by the writers and production team. It spies don't see some of the clear evidence and follow it, no wonder the world is in such a mess. And the ending of the series was rushed and such a mess I'm not sure I would want to watch a second series. Such a shame.

Dull and Boring

[dicancer · 1/10 · 27 March 2024]

With inaccurate and unrealistic abilities to agent Gray who seems to be stronger than man half her age.

Plus the start shows the analyst killing the agent by the pool in Beirut and the creation of the concept of the mole Then no mention of this instead the analyst was showing helping Gray. Serious flaws, boring and dull.

The ending portray Gray as a rogue agent who covers for the mole and becomes herself who dictates the new era.

With inaccurate and unrealistic abilities to agent Gray who seems to be stronger than man half her age.

Plus the start shows the analyst killing the agent by the pool in Beirut and the creation of the concept of the mole Then no mention of this instead the analyst was showing helping Gray. Serious flaws, boring and dull.

The ending portray Gray as a rogue agent who covers for the mole and becomes herself who dictates the new era.