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Pushing Daisies
SERIES: ABC, Wednesday 8:00p (60 minutes)

Pushing Daisies
Critic Score
Metascore: 86 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.1 out of 10
based on 30 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?
based on 143 votes
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rate this tv show

Starring Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Ellen Greene, Kristin Chenoweth, Swoosie Kurtz, and Jim Dale

Ned brings life and death with a touch in this fresh-as-a-daisy fantasy show.

GENRE(S): Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
CREATED BY: Bryan Fuller
FIRST AIR DATE: October 3, 2007

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
Pushing Daisies deserves its high praise. It's the best new drama of the fall, finding sweet hope in morbid tragedy.
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100
Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy
Pushing Daisies is a delicate, rapturously original little television miracle.
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100
Miami Herald Glenn Garvin
Pushing Daisies is by far the best new series of the fall season.
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100
New York Daily News David Bianculli
Pushing Daisies is perfect.
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100
San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman
It's a gloriously visual fairy tale full of saturated colors and whimsical stories, the kind of romantic comedy/whodunit that should, by rights, captivate a nation starved for quirkiness and delight.
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100
USA Today Robert Bianco
Solid gold from top to bottom, the cast is almost an embarrassment of riches.
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91
Christian Science Monitor Gloria Goodale
The hour balances its caper-cartoon and ghoulish sensibilities with a crisp pace and well-cast leads.
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90
Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall
It's the best-looking pilot of the season--maybe the best new show, period--even though it may not look that good in the future.
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90
Philadelphia Daily News Ellen Gray
I wouldn't want to miss a word.
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90
Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm
This may be one of the most beautifully crafted and original TV shows ever to get fall consideration on a big network.
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90
Variety Brian Lowry
Standing head and shoulders above this fall's other seedlings.
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90
Washington Post Tom Shales
The lovingly and imaginatively produced pilot has to be the most gorgeous piece of television airing anywhere tonight.
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90
TV Guide Matt Roush
This Technicolored kaleidoscope fable of life, love and perpetual whimsy restores my faith in TV's ability to amuse, enchant and entertain with endless invention and eye-popping style.
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90
Slate Troy Patterson
It's a breath of fresh air even for those of us who find our allergies stimulated by the countless particles of whimsy suspended in its thick atmosphere.
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80
LA Weekly Robert Abele
It's a whimsical, romantically inventive and darkly funny pop-up hour about a man (Lee Pace) whose touch can bring the dead back to life (but also, yikes, vice versa).
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80
Salon Heather Havrilesky
With snappy writing, stunning art direction and a great cast, this really is the new show you don't want to miss.
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80
San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum
Daisies is something you shouldn't miss, particularly if you're looking for something different on TV.
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80
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
All the praise heaped on Pushing Daisies, and every declaration about the dramedy's originality, is merited.
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80
The New York Times Alessandra Stanley
The story of Ned (Lee Pace), a young man who can bring the dead back to life, is sweetly odd, but also oddly charming.
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80
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
Pushing Daisies captivates with an emotionally resonant story and dazzles with its bright visual imagery. Fans of delightfully daft fairy tales, this one's for you.
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80
Newsday Diane Werts
On top of the stars' subtlety and Fuller's verbal wit, Sonnenfeld's pilot direction ladles layers of flashy frosting--theatrical camera angles, emphatic zooms, intensified color and those heavyhanded moments when the narration can't quite straddle the sap line.
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80
Baltimore Sun David Zurawik
At its best--during several moments of exquisite longing between the adult Ned and Chuck--Pushing Daisies feels so right that it almost redeems all the wrongs of such wretched new series as Cavemen or Carpoolers.
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80
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
Pushing Daisies is good, as well as distinctive.
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80
Wall Street Journal Nancy DeWolf Smith
As charming as all that is amid the macabre, Pushing Daisies is a show that only a grown-up can fully enjoy.
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80
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
The series, from creators Bryan Fuller and Barry Sonnenfeld, is a masterful mixture of life, romance, optimism and youthful exuberance, all played out under the threat of instant death.
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80
New York Magazine John Leonard
Pushing Daisies will drive you crazy or make you smile.
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80
Kansas City Star Aaron Barnhart
It’s definitely not the same-old same-old, for which ABC is to be congratulated.
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80
Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd
It is all very beautiful.
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70
Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan
Despite the fine work of Pace and Friel--who convey tenderness despite the director’s efforts to stamp it out--the sheer quantity of forced whimsy and visual razzle-dazzle can be exhausting.
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63
New York Post Linda Stasi
Pushing Daisies is fanciful and fun, but sometimes pushes the daisies too hard.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this tv show is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 143 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jane K. gave it a7:
Charming characters and a beautiful style make this an enjoyable show. However, it is crushed to death under the narration! It over-narrates... it talks over the plot, and it explains things that don't need explaining... let the actors act, they can pull it off without a narrator telling us every detail of their internal monologues. With such simplistic plots, the device of narration serves no purpose whatsoever. It's like pouring sprinkles on top of a wedding cake.

Charlotte M. gave it a10:
This is my favorite new show in years. The creativity and use of Broadway actors combine to yield a delightful, quirky, and unpredictable gem of a show. Take a look - you'll love it.

Martin S. gave it a6:
It's well written but not particularly interesting. I smell cancellation.

Dejai gave it a10:
I truly think this is the type of show that could surpass the Emmy's and win Oscars. Every show makes my heart and body feel privileged to watch it.

Dr louise gave it an8:
I really like this show.. Truly makes my heart pop, but with all fairy tails they must come to a conclusion or it gets boring. There isn't anything but the love to bring me back.. Unfortunately, If they don't get together by the end of the season I will not be watching next year...

Candace W. gave it a10:
Pushing Daisies is ingenious! I laugh beginning to end each episode. Jim Dale as the narrator is the icing on the cake. :)

Jasmine gave it a10:
Love it! The most refreshing TV show on right now.

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