The Sinner: Season 1

"Biel’s intense performance of despair isn’t helped by a story that keeps Cora a cipher or by clipped scenes that don’t let her stretch and breathe."

"Whatever one feels about the story being told, the discomfiting mood established before a single line of dialogue is uttered is unquestionable. ... The overall quality of the performance [by Biel] will depend on what shadings The Sinner gives her to play, but it's a good start."

"It's premature to conclude whether the show will rise to that level, or have enough twists to sustain itself until the end. Strictly in terms of drawing you into Cora's story, though, The Sinner has the makings of a winner."

"There’s just enough intrigue in the set-up--and in Biel’s moving central performance--to justify finding out why this regular person did something so irregular."

"Biel is excellent as Cora--her facial expressions resonate with tortured emotions--and she’s ably supported by Abbott as the bewildered Mason. ... The opening episode of The Sinner features lots of blood and some requisite (tame) nudity; if you can get past that, it promises an eventful ride over the next eight weeks."

"The Sinner directs all of its artistic energy toward the viewer’s empathy, which is a tricky place to be. Deglamorized and grief-stricken, Biel is immediately convincing as both a victim, of sorts, and a possibly psychotic murderer. A viewer can’t help but wonder where it goes from here."

"Some of the beats are a little too broad--the flashbacks feel particularly like devices instead of the realism of the present-day material--but there’s so much to like here that any missteps are quickly forgotten."

"It all adds up to a drama that's strikingly filmed, gratifyingly smarter than it needs to be and--better still in an era of bloated episode counts--snappily paced. The Sinner has the zip of a good detective yarn."