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''Mare of Easttown'' is an American
crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
created and written by
Brad Ingelsby Brad Ingelsby (born January 4, 1980) is an American screenwriter and film producer. Ingelsby is the son of basketball player and coach Tom Ingelsby and Rose Ingelsby. His brother Martin Ingelsby is also a basketball coach. Ingelsby grew up in ...
for
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
. Directed by
Craig Zobel Roger Craig Zobel is an American filmmaker and actor whose work includes music videos, film, and television. He has directed the films ''Compliance (film), Compliance'' (2012), ''Z for Zachariah (film), Z for Zachariah'' (2015), and ''The Hunt (2 ...
, the series premiered on April 18, 2021, and concluded on May 30, 2021, consisting of seven episodes. It stars
Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...
as the title character, a detective investigating a murder in a small town near
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
Julianne Nicholson Julianne Nicholson (born July 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films '' August: Osage County'' (2013) and ''Blonde'' (2022), as well as the television series ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2006–2009), ...
,
Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. After beginning her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest, she appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play '' Piaf''. Smart was l ...
,
Angourie Rice Angourie Rice ( ; born 1 January 2001) is an Australian actress. She began her career as a child actress, coming to attention for her roles in ''These Final Hours'' and ''The Nice Guys''. She is known for her portrayal of Betty Brant in the Ma ...
,
Evan Peters Evan Thomas Peters (born January 20, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his multiple roles on the FX anthology series '' American Horror Story''; as Detective Colin Zabel in the HBO crime drama limited series '' Mare of Easttown'', w ...
,
Sosie Bacon Sosie Ruth Bacon (born March 15, 1992) is an American actress. Her first role was playing 10-year-old Emily in the film ''Loverboy'' (2005), which was directed by her father, Kevin Bacon. James Duff, producer of ''The Closer'', was compelled by ...
,
David Denman David Denman (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' The Replacements''. His other feature credits include ''Big Fish'', '' Fair Game'', ''The Nines'', '' Shutter'', ''Smart People'', '' Fanboys'', '' Let Go'', '' ...
,
Neal Huff Neal Huff is an American actor from New York City. In April 2018, he performed as Willie Oban in the Broadway revival of ''The Iceman Cometh''. In December 2018, Huff began performing in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', adapted for stage by Aaron Sor ...
,
James McArdle James John McArdle (born 3 April 1989) is a Scottish actor from Glasgow. He won the Ian Charleson Award for his role as Mikhail Platonov in '' Platonov'' and was nominated for an Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for p ...
,
Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young (Neighbours), Mike Young in ...
,
Cailee Spaeny Cailee Spaeny (; born July 24, 1998) is an American actress. Her first major role was in the science fiction action film ''Pacific Rim Uprising'' (2018), which was followed by appearances in ''Bad Times at the El Royale'', ''On the Basis of Sex' ...
,
John Douglas Thompson John Douglas Thompson (born 1964) is an English-American actor. He is a Tony Award nominee and the recipient of two Drama Desk Awards, two Obie Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Lucille Lortel Award. ''The New York Times'' critic B ...
, and
Joe Tippett Joe Tippett (born March 1, 1982) is an American actor. He is known for playing Sam Strickland in the NBC drama series ''Rise'' and John Ross in the HBO crime drama miniseries '' Mare of Easttown.'' Early life Joe Tippett was born on March 1 ...
appear in supporting roles. ''Mare of Easttown'' was acclaimed by critics, who lauded its story, characters, acting, and representation of women. The series received 16 nominations at the
73rd Primetime Emmy Awards The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2020, until May 31, 2021, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The award ceremony was held live on September 19, 2021, ...
and won four, including Outstanding Lead Actress for Winslet, Outstanding Supporting Actor for Peters, and Outstanding Supporting Actress for Nicholson.


Premise

In a suburb of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, police detective Marianne "Mare" Sheehan investigates the recent murder of a teenage mother while trying to keep her own life from falling apart. Mare is a local hero, having been the star of a high school basketball championship game 25 years earlier. She has also been unable to solve the case of another missing young girl for a year, leading many in the community to doubt her detective skills. Her personal troubles include a divorce, a son lost to suicide, and a custody battle with her son’s formerly
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
addicted girlfriend over Mare's grandson.


Cast and characters


Main

*
Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...
as Marianne "Mare" Sheehan, a detective sergeant in Easttown, Pennsylvania, who is investigating the murder of one young girl and the disappearance of another *
Julianne Nicholson Julianne Nicholson (born July 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films '' August: Osage County'' (2013) and ''Blonde'' (2022), as well as the television series ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2006–2009), ...
as Lori Ross, Mare's closest friend *
Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. After beginning her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest, she appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play '' Piaf''. Smart was l ...
as Helen Fahey, Mare's mother *
Angourie Rice Angourie Rice ( ; born 1 January 2001) is an Australian actress. She began her career as a child actress, coming to attention for her roles in ''These Final Hours'' and ''The Nice Guys''. She is known for her portrayal of Betty Brant in the Ma ...
as Siobhan Sheehan, Mare's daughter *
David Denman David Denman (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' The Replacements''. His other feature credits include ''Big Fish'', '' Fair Game'', ''The Nines'', '' Shutter'', ''Smart People'', '' Fanboys'', '' Let Go'', '' ...
as Frank Sheehan, Mare's ex-husband *
Neal Huff Neal Huff is an American actor from New York City. In April 2018, he performed as Willie Oban in the Broadway revival of ''The Iceman Cometh''. In December 2018, Huff began performing in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', adapted for stage by Aaron Sor ...
as Father Dan Hastings, Mare's cousin, a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
priest and the pastor of St. Michael's Church *
Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young (Neighbours), Mike Young in ...
as Richard Ryan, an author and creative writing professor *
Cailee Spaeny Cailee Spaeny (; born July 24, 1998) is an American actress. Her first major role was in the science fiction action film ''Pacific Rim Uprising'' (2018), which was followed by appearances in ''Bad Times at the El Royale'', ''On the Basis of Sex' ...
as Erin McMenamin, a teenage single mother who is treated badly by her ex-boyfriend *
John Douglas Thompson John Douglas Thompson (born 1964) is an English-American actor. He is a Tony Award nominee and the recipient of two Drama Desk Awards, two Obie Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Lucille Lortel Award. ''The New York Times'' critic B ...
as Chief Carter, Mare's boss at the police department *
Joe Tippett Joe Tippett (born March 1, 1982) is an American actor. He is known for playing Sam Strickland in the NBC drama series ''Rise'' and John Ross in the HBO crime drama miniseries '' Mare of Easttown.'' Early life Joe Tippett was born on March 1 ...
as John Ross, Lori's husband and cousin of Erin's father Kenny *
Evan Peters Evan Thomas Peters (born January 20, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his multiple roles on the FX anthology series '' American Horror Story''; as Detective Colin Zabel in the HBO crime drama limited series '' Mare of Easttown'', w ...
as Detective Colin Zabel, the county detective called in to assist Mare *
Sosie Bacon Sosie Ruth Bacon (born March 15, 1992) is an American actress. Her first role was playing 10-year-old Emily in the film ''Loverboy'' (2005), which was directed by her father, Kevin Bacon. James Duff, producer of ''The Closer'', was compelled by ...
as Carrie Layden, the mother of Mare's grandson Drew and ex-girlfriend of Mare's deceased son Kevin *
James McArdle James John McArdle (born 3 April 1989) is a Scottish actor from Glasgow. He won the Ian Charleson Award for his role as Mikhail Platonov in '' Platonov'' and was nominated for an Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for p ...
as Deacon Mark Burton, a Catholic deacon reassigned to St. Michael's after sexual misconduct allegations at his previous parish


Supporting

*Kate Arrington as Faye, Frank's fiancée *Ruby Cruz as Jess Riley, Erin's best friend *
Ned Eisenberg Ned Eisenberg (January 13, 1957 – February 27, 2022) was an American actor known for his recurring role on ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' as Roger Kressler. Early life and education Eisenberg grew up in the Riverdale, Bronx, Riverdale ...
as Detective Hauser, a county detective *Enid Graham as Dawn Bailey, an Easttown resident whose daughter, Katie, has been missing for over a year *Deborah Hedwall as Judy Zabel, Colin's mother with whom he lives *Caitlin Houlahan as Katie Bailey, a girl who went missing from Easttown a year prior *Cameron Mann as Ryan Ross, Lori and John's son *
Jack Mulhern John Francis "Jack" Mulhern (July 18, 1927 – September 19, 2007) was an American ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sp ...
as Dylan Hinchey, Erin's ex-boyfriend * Patrick Murney as Kenny McMenamin, Erin's father *Chinasa Ogbuagu as Beth Hanlon, Freddie's sister and Mare and Dawn's close friend *
Phyllis Somerville Phyllis Jeanne Somerville (December 12, 1943 – July 16, 2020) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She is best known for her roles in '' Little Children'' (2006), '' The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'' (2008), ''Surviving Famil ...
as Betty Carroll, an elderly Easttown resident; this was Somerville's final role before her death in 2020 *Robbie Tann as Billy Ross, John's brother, Lori's brother-in-law and Kenny's cousin *
Madeline Weinstein Madeline Weinstein is an American actress best known for starring in the Netflix comedy-drama ''Alex Strangelove'' and the independent film ''Beach Rats''. Filmography Film Television Theatre Personal life Weinstein currently resides ...
as Becca, Siobhan's stoner girlfriend


Other

*Rosa Arredondo as Tammy, a former sex worker and friend of Mare's who works as an informant for her *Debbie Campbell as Katherine Hinchey, Dylan's mother *
Gordon Clapp Gordon Clapp (born September 24, 1948) is an American actor best known for playing Det. Greg Medavoy for all 12 seasons of the television series ''NYPD Blue'', winning an Emmy Award in 1998. Early life and education Clapp was born in North Conw ...
as Pat Ross, John and Billy’s father *
Eisa Davis Eisa Davis (born May 5, 1971) is an American playwright, actress and singer-songwriter. She is most commonly known for her work as a playwright, writing shows such as ''Bulrusher'' and ''Angela's Mixtape'' as well as through her acting work, where ...
as Gayle Graham, Mare's therapist *Sasha Frolova as Missy Sager, an escort *Jeremy Gabriel as Steve Hinchey, Dylan's father *Connie Giordano as Patty Del Rasso, Brianna's mother *Justin Hurtt-Dunkley as Officer Trammel *Dominique Johnson as Freddie Hanlon, Beth's opioid-addicted brother *Izzy King as Drew Sheehan, Mare's grandson, born to her son Kevin and his girlfriend Carrie Layden *Cody Kostro as Kevin Sheehan, Mare's late son who died by suicide prior to the events of the series *Jeb Kreager as Wayne Potts, a resident of Easttown *Katie Kreisler as Trish Riley, Jess' mother *Mackenzie Lansing as Brianna Del Rasso, Dylan's girlfriend *Patrick McDade as Glen Carroll, Betty's husband *Kiah McKirnan as Anne Harris, a DJ at the Haverford College radio show where Siobhan's band performs *Patsy Meck as Jan Kelly, an employee at the Easttown police station *Eric T. Miller as Tony Del Rasso, Brianna's father, a restaurant owner *Kassie Mundhenk as Moira Ross, Lori and John's daughter, who has
Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...
*Anthony Norman as Nathan Forde, a member of Siobhan's band *Drew Scheid as Geoff Gabeheart, one of Siobhan's friends, drummer in Siobhan's band Androgynous *Sadat Waddy as Sean, Dylan's friend


Episodes


Production


Development

In January 2019, it was reported that
Brad Ingelsby Brad Ingelsby (born January 4, 1980) is an American screenwriter and film producer. Ingelsby is the son of basketball player and coach Tom Ingelsby and Rose Ingelsby. His brother Martin Ingelsby is also a basketball coach. Ingelsby grew up in ...
, creator of the limited series, would write all episodes, with Gavin O'Connor directing. Executive producers include Ingelsby, O'Connor, Kate Winslet, Paul Lee, Mark Roybal, and Gordon Gray. In January 2020, it was announced that
Craig Zobel Roger Craig Zobel is an American filmmaker and actor whose work includes music videos, film, and television. He has directed the films ''Compliance (film), Compliance'' (2012), ''Z for Zachariah (film), Z for Zachariah'' (2015), and ''The Hunt (2 ...
would replace O'Connor as director due to scheduling issues and also serve as executive producer. Regarding the setting, Ingelsby stated "sort of an amalgam" which he explained "It’s Coatesville, it’s
Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...
, it’s
Drexel Hill Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The population was 29,181 at the 2020 census, up from 28,043 at the 2010 census, and accounting for over a third of Upper Darby's population. G ...
." Ingelsby stated that he chose the name Easttown because "it sounded like such a generic town name."


Casting

It was announced in January 2019 that
Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...
had been cast to star in the HBO miniseries that would be filmed on location in suburban Philadelphia. In September 2019, the cast was rounded out with
Julianne Nicholson Julianne Nicholson (born July 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films '' August: Osage County'' (2013) and ''Blonde'' (2022), as well as the television series ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2006–2009), ...
,
Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. After beginning her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest, she appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play '' Piaf''. Smart was l ...
,
Angourie Rice Angourie Rice ( ; born 1 January 2001) is an Australian actress. She began her career as a child actress, coming to attention for her roles in ''These Final Hours'' and ''The Nice Guys''. She is known for her portrayal of Betty Brant in the Ma ...
,
Evan Peters Evan Thomas Peters (born January 20, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his multiple roles on the FX anthology series '' American Horror Story''; as Detective Colin Zabel in the HBO crime drama limited series '' Mare of Easttown'', w ...
,
Cailee Spaeny Cailee Spaeny (; born July 24, 1998) is an American actress. Her first major role was in the science fiction action film ''Pacific Rim Uprising'' (2018), which was followed by appearances in ''Bad Times at the El Royale'', ''On the Basis of Sex' ...
and
David Denman David Denman (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' The Replacements''. His other feature credits include ''Big Fish'', '' Fair Game'', ''The Nines'', '' Shutter'', ''Smart People'', '' Fanboys'', '' Let Go'', '' ...
.
John Douglas Thompson John Douglas Thompson (born 1964) is an English-American actor. He is a Tony Award nominee and the recipient of two Drama Desk Awards, two Obie Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Lucille Lortel Award. ''The New York Times'' critic B ...
, Patrick Murney, Ben Miles, Katie Kreisler,
James McArdle James John McArdle (born 3 April 1989) is a Scottish actor from Glasgow. He won the Ian Charleson Award for his role as Mikhail Platonov in '' Platonov'' and was nominated for an Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for p ...
,
Sosie Bacon Sosie Ruth Bacon (born March 15, 1992) is an American actress. Her first role was playing 10-year-old Emily in the film ''Loverboy'' (2005), which was directed by her father, Kevin Bacon. James Duff, producer of ''The Closer'', was compelled by ...
,
Joe Tippett Joe Tippett (born March 1, 1982) is an American actor. He is known for playing Sam Strickland in the NBC drama series ''Rise'' and John Ross in the HBO crime drama miniseries '' Mare of Easttown.'' Early life Joe Tippett was born on March 1 ...
,
Neal Huff Neal Huff is an American actor from New York City. In April 2018, he performed as Willie Oban in the Broadway revival of ''The Iceman Cometh''. In December 2018, Huff began performing in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', adapted for stage by Aaron Sor ...
were cast in October 2019. In February 2021, it was announced that
Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young (Neighbours), Mike Young in ...
joined the cast, replacing Miles in his role. In the same month, Mackenzie Lansing, Kate Arrington, Ruby Cruz, James Easter Bradford, Elisa Davis, Enid Graham, Justin Hurtt-Dunkley, Izzy King, Jack Mulhern, Anthony Norman, Drew Scheid, and
Madeline Weinstein Madeline Weinstein is an American actress best known for starring in the Netflix comedy-drama ''Alex Strangelove'' and the independent film ''Beach Rats''. Filmography Film Television Theatre Personal life Weinstein currently resides ...
were cast in the limited series.


Filming

Filming of the show began in the fall of 2019 around suburban Philadelphia and was reported to still be in progress as of March 2020, with plans to continue through April. However, production was shut down early due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In early September 2020, a Philadelphia news station reported that filming was set to resume within the month. Because the story is set in a fictionalized version of
Easttown Township Easttown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,477 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History The land that eventually became Easttown Township was o ...
in
Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...
, where series creator
Brad Ingelsby Brad Ingelsby (born January 4, 1980) is an American screenwriter and film producer. Ingelsby is the son of basketball player and coach Tom Ingelsby and Rose Ingelsby. His brother Martin Ingelsby is also a basketball coach. Ingelsby grew up in ...
was born (the show moves the location east to Delaware County, which is adjacent to Easttown Twp), there were discussions about whether to use the "Delco accent", a version of
Philadelphia English Philadelphia English is a variety or dialect of American English native to Philadelphia and extending into Philadelphia's metropolitan area throughout the Delaware Valley, including southeastern Pennsylvania, counties of northern Delaware (esp ...
common in Delaware County. It was Winslet who insisted that the accent be used, despite being a particularly difficult accent to learn, because she felt the community itself was an important character in the story, and the authentic accent would help emphasize that. "There were a lot of things I could have really leant into that would have made it sound like I was doing something a bit gimmicky and I didn't want that to happen," Winslet said. "So I just had to drill it and drill it and drill it." She claimed that learning the accent was so difficult that it caused her to "throw things". A dialect coach named Susanne Sulby assisted the actors. Filming locations include a train station and high-school gymnasium in
Coatesville, Pennsylvania Coatesville is a city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,350 at the 2020 census. Coatesville is approximately 39 miles west of Philadelphia. It developed along the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike beginning ...
(a city in Chester County), and an
American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
hall in Ogden, a community in Delaware County. Inglesby has said that many of the filming locations were around Aston Township, in Delaware County. Winslet reportedly said that, while filming the show, she became obsessed with Wawa convenience stores. "Wawa was a big part of my life for well over a year," she said. Wawa stores were used as scouting locations for the production's costume designers.


Release

The seven-episode limited series premiered on April 18, 2021, and concluded on May 30, 2021. The limited series was released on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
and DVD by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on September 14, 2021.


Reception


Critical response

''Mare of Easttown'' received critical acclaim. On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the series has an approval rating of 95% based on 128 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grounded by a career-best Kate Winslet, ''Mare of Easttown''s ambitions at times exceed its reach, but its central mystery is supported by such strong sense of place and character it hardly matters." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the series has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on reviews from 42 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Winslet received widespread praise for her performance, including from Lucy Mangan of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' who wrote, "If you can have a defining performance this late in a career, this is surely Winslet's. She is absolutely wonderful." Alex Abad-Santos of '' Vox'' described Winslet's performance as "mesmerizing", adding that "she allows us to see the ugliness Mare is capable of and how obsessive, perhaps even abusive, she can be when she's threatened." ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''s Dorothy Rabinowitz noted "Winslet's eloquent command of the role is obvious from the outset". Ben Travers of ''
IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
'' wrote, "Winslet's immersed performance could carry a far lesser work by itself", while adding that her East American dialect is "convincing and her physical work is flawless."
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' declared, "Winslet adds to a long list of magnificent, disappear-into-the-character performances...one of the most resonant performances of her career." Caryn James of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
wrote, "Winslet makes an unglamorous return to TV...and her fierce, ordinary heroine is gloriously real." Inkoo Kang of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' gave it a mostly positive review describing it as "uneven, but masterfully suspenseful". Kang compared the series with British crime drama '' Happy Valley'', a comparison echoed by Fiona Sturges of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', who wrote that "addiction, abuse and death were woven into the fabric of life" in both dramas, while acknowledging similarities between both shows' protagonists. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' was dismissive in its review, with television critic Mike Hale writing: "Some style in the direction or honest feeling in the screenplay could have mitigated the dreariness, but 'Mare' doesn't offer much beyond Ben Richardson's burnished cinematography." A
plot twist A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist or surprise ending. It may change the aud ...
in the final episode received lukewarm reviews from various outlets. For ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', Joshua Alston wrote, "While
he final episode He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
is a triumphant conclusion to Mare's emotional arc, as a conclusion to a mystery, it's a mixed bag ..the whole thing just feels arbitrary and confusing and lacks the emotional logic this show is normally so good at." In ''
Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' *'' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machine th ...
'', Sean T. Collins agreed but praised the leads' performances, writing, "The resolution of the mystery is a bit 'twists and fake-outs for twists' and fake-outs' sake.' But each new revelation came with an emotionally devastating payload for the characters, with Winslet and Nicholson in particular doing their best work of the series." Critics and viewers have also particularly praised the series and Winslet for convincingly replicating the Philadelphia regional accent, an oddity in mainstream media. The specific version of the Philadelphia accent is known as the "Delco accent", after Delaware County to the west of Philadelphia. The characters' accents, along with their fondness for Wawa, were parodied in a May 2021 ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' sketch.


Ratings

''Mare of Easttown'' proved to be a record breaking ratings hit. The massive viewership resulted in
HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
servers crashing shortly after the finale was released on the streaming service. The final episode of ''Mare of Easttown'' drew four million viewers over the holiday weekend across HBO and HBO Max, with nearly three million viewers Sunday night (all platforms), marking a series high for both linear and digital, according to HBO. The finale also set the record as the most watched episode of an original series on HBO Max during its first 24 hours of availability, besting the finales of ''
The Undoing ''The Undoing'' is a 2020 American Mystery fiction, mystery psychological thriller television miniseries based on the 2014 novel ''You Should Have Known'' by Jean Hanff Korelitz. It was written and produced by David E. Kelley and directed by S ...
'' and ''
The Flight Attendant ''The Flight Attendant'' is an American dark comedy drama mystery thriller television series developed by Steve Yockey based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian. It stars Kaley Cuoco in the title role and premiered on HB ...
'' over the same period of time. ''Mare of Easttown'' also joined ''The Undoing'' as the only series in HBO's history to see consecutive growth week-to-week.


Accolades


Potential second season

Though intended as a limited series, Winslet stated in August 2021 that she "would love to return" as Mare, and that for a potential second season, Ingelsby "has shared some very cool ideas. We will see what happens. I also have to figure out if I can do it. Can I go through it again? It did cost me a lot emotionally to be her, and I have to figure out if I can summon it all up again and do it again."


References


External links

* * {{HBONetwork Shows 2020s American crime drama television series 2020s American drama television miniseries 2021 American television series debuts 2021 American television series endings English-language television shows HBO original programming Television shows filmed in Pennsylvania Television shows set in Philadelphia Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television series by Home Box Office