User Reviews

The quality of this show is something I have come to associate with HBO. Sopranos, Big Love, Generation Kill, and Trueblood to name a few.

Kings is the first network show in years that I cannot wait for the next episode. NBC has a series that, if the bean counter's don't get involved, could be the renaissance of network TV. The acting, writing and production is excellent and a joy to watch. Qualities that network TV has not had in recent years.

Hopefully NBC will also take HBO's lead and end it when the story has been told.

The more is questions I have about locations. Are the interior locations real, if so where? The cabinet room with the glass wall, the palace entry with the chandelier, and other rooms look to good to be sets. Is the exterior shots of the palace the Dakota building?

I caught this show by chance in the 4th episode, and had no idea it was based on the Biblical story of King David. I simply enjoyed it as a soap-opera in the court of an alternate-reality, present-day functioning monarchy. (One with royal decrees, cellphones, and young royals in the tabloids.) Then I watched the first 3 episodes on Hulu.com, and figured out the plot line reads directly out of the King David Wikipedia page.

But its brilliant, because it follows the exact story of David's ascension to the throne against the first King of Israel Saul (Silas), with all the characters and relationships from the Bible, with all the drama and intrigue of Shakespeare's Richard III. David saves the King's son in battle (vs. Goliath), and the King rewards him with a military position and the hand of his daughter (Michelle/Michal). Meanwhile the King's son (Jack/Jonathan) sees David as a threat to his own position. Soon, Silas realises David is the anointed successor, and plots to kill him.

All of this is done masterfully, as the writers cleverly (and transparently) work the plot and intrigue into the modern day setting. It plays like modern Shakespeare of a North American monarchy. The story is so engrossing, you forget you're watching science fiction / fantasy. It has all the elements of a classic story, and is extremely entertaining.

I think all of the episodes are already in the can, and I can guess all 13 episodes play out the entire story of David's reign, wife, son, etc. I never knew the story of David until now, and I'll probably read the Wikipedia page as I finish watching the series.

Finally something intelligent and well done that does a network proud. When was the last time anyone in charge of a network production could say that? I was amazed that a TV production was permitted to adapt a biblical story to commercial television and not make it a travesty. The writing, acting and casting are first rate and the ingenious production that sets the story in a modern setting easily identifiable to not only American but World audiences is outstanding. How power corrupts and becomes the guiding principle of a regime (whether its elected or hereditary) and how human failings overshadow all the events they contrive and no matter what they orchestrate, realize that they are really never in control.

Ian McShane steals the show as the King and is perfectly cast. The writers have even managed to depict the proper tone of a man falling from the pinnacle knowing that his path is taking him to ultimate failure after he's abandoned his principles.

Kudos to Christopher Egan and Allison Miller. Egan as the 'David' and reluctant hero and Allison as the love interest and King's daughter who wants to be more than just another pretty face.

Th writing is first rate and I'm amazed that it survived the usual story development process as well as it did.

It's a do not miss and will be talked about for years.

So much potential in this show. From the amazing writing to beautiful cinematography and perfect casting. Re-imagining stories from the bible in this fashion is a phenomenal idea. I've been dreaming about a series like this ever since I was a kid in Jewish school. These stories are bloody, gruesome, and filled with drama and turmoil with epic resolutions. You can easily turn many tales into modern-day epics. Kings is obviously the story with the most character intrigue, but imagine a long epic of Joshua, recanting the bloody wars and killing in the name of creating a nation and identity. Or the story of Purim as a several season arc.

It's a shame this show is now lost in history. NBC should have at least given the series another season to prove it had an audience. Instead, it was a victim of the early TV streaming days, where Hulu viewership would not count for NBC's ad revenue (even though it was one of the most popular shows on the streaming site). It deserved to at least have a grand conclusion.

I really enjoy watching this show. It's an odd, but wonderful, mixture of present day modernities and old world thoughts of kings and kingdoms. It's really unlike anything I've ever seen before and you really have to appreciate that kind of originality. I don't know so much about the biblical story behind the show, and I don't much care. I see the show as more of a kind of fantasy, with the historical definitions of kings being "gods" and "chosen by god". I guess what I'm trying to say is, you don't need to be religious to watch it, it's just a really good show whether you are or aren't, just don't expect the show to be fully realistic. I hope to see many more episodes and many more seasons if the show sticks to the quality of these first 3 episodes.

i have seen this show after I saw an interview of the star on the daily show with john steward. this show has so many dimensions.different characters has shown depth and the attention to details is impeccable. the acting of the main character Christopher Egan brings both the emotional side of a war veteran who rose in the ranks unexpectedly when he does a heroic act.Ian McShane who plays a complex king who plays with many interests but has the good of his people at his heart all the time.

the subliminal messages in the show are both subtle and clear.the director has a way of making you hold your breath at every moment of the show.the writing of this show gives you a feel of the real inner workings of a made up kingdom.

though i have only seen three episodes of this show,i will keep watching this show,it is one of the rare shows that had me hooked from the start.lets hope NBC doesn't turn this into a mess like most of their good shows.

I was very pleased with the quality of the show. I caught up on the show - didn't watch the beginning show until this past Sunday so I caught the last one on NBC.com and then watched this week's one on my DVR.

The quality is very high, and while a couple of the characters seem to have dialogue written out of the standard Hollywood textbook, the show seems to be going for higher standards. I particularly like the effects that don't hit you over the head, but impress the gravity of the situation.

I had no idea it was Biblical based - though I'm not necessarily religious - but the marketing leaves mixed messages - its "America with a King", a "war series", and a "royalty show". I think they could retool some of the marketing for it.

I'm definitely going to keep watching! This show is carefully proving to be great!

This was a great show. Biblically based but not preachy. It was wonderful. I want more shows like this. Like the Chosen.

I was very disappointed this series was cancelled. As one reviewer said this series may have worked better on HBO or Starz. Personally I feel it was overly intellectual for the average person so people just thought it was not interesting, when in reality it was very well done. The acting was very good and I found every episode to be intriguing and mind bending. The production, style and techniques used were superb. But most viewers do not like to think this much and so it failed. It was easily one of the top 20 series, in my opinion, I have seen on TV in my 45 years of viewing. It is a shame that every time I find a gem like this it only lasts one or two years, and I am a viewer of everything from Rich Man Poor Man, Twin Peaks, Family Guy, I Love Raymond to The Walking Dead.

This is a captivating show about leadership, faith, family, patriotism, politics, loyalty, ethics, duty, and even reading the signs that life leaves for you (those who enjoyed Paulo Coelho's book "The Alchemist" will appreciate the latter). The series is engrossing in a cerebral way, building its suspense from the mental, emotional, ethical, and spiritual puzzles that its characters must navigate. There are plenty of action scenes, but they are exciting more for their impact on the plot than the actual stunts or special effects–as I said, this is more of a cerebral show.

Setting this show in an alternate world, with fictional nations and cities, allows the series to address the issues it wants, in the ways it wants, while minimizing the risk of making blunders in departures from realism–for instance, I didn't find myself saying, "That would never happen," during court scenes, because I was watching a fictional court system, with rules unknown to me. But I do have to say I was disappointed that this alternate reality did not seem very diverse. And the Black people in this show were pretty much asexual…except when Marlyne Barrett's character did get a love interest, it was the awkward, morbidly obese palace guard played by Joel Garland…no one else was even interested in her, even though she's pretty, with gorgeous eyes.

By the way, I have to say I did not care for either of the palace guards, played by Garland and Jason Antoon. They play the role of the unnoticed observers, who sometimes intervene at key plot points, and often serve as comic relief. However, something about these two is not that charismatic, both as individual actors, and in their chemistry together.

However, the rest of the cast delivered commendable performances. There is something very regal about McShane, which was evident even when he used to play a bastard crime boss who struggles against his instincts to be good in Deadwood. In this show, as a king who speaks to God, but has learned to get his hands dirty to accomplish a greater good, he is just as brilliant in illustrating the impossible choices put before powerful leaders. Egan has a promising future as a leading man; in the space of one season, you see his character develop from a wet-behind-the-ears, trusting and optimistic kid, to a stoic hero with a thousand-yard stare. Thompson is the prototypical matriarch; somehow she manages to seem cold and cutthroat, yet driven by love and selflessness at the same time. Allison Miller is another one of those actresses that has a talent for letting the camera into her heart; by the time it's all said and done, you feel like you know her intimately; this is the mark of a future leading lady. Sebastian Stan did a great job in capturing the duality of his character: half of the time, he has the swagger of a leading man– confident and righteous; the other half, he is scared, indecisive, ashamed of who he is, jealous, and desperate for approval. Macaulay Culkin has gotten pretty good at playing sociopaths. Last but not least, I have admired the fire in Eamonn Walker's performances ever since he played Kareem Said in Oz; his character in this show, Reverend Ephram Samuels, has a different background than Said, but is very similar in his personality traits.

A CGI-altered New York City makes an awesome backdrop for the city of Shiloh. The score is spot-on, as well, adding just the right accent to key scenes for the desired effect on the viewer's mood.

The cancellation of this show after its first season makes me wonder about the population sample used for TV ratings. How does an intelligent and entertaining series like this one fail to get renewed, with so much mundane, uninspired drivel out there getting multiple seasons and spin-offs? This show is worth setting the time aside at some point to watch in its entirety, even though it ends with unresolved story lines because of its cancellation. While the chances of getting this great cast back together get slimmer and slimmer as time passes, I wish the series would get picked up and continued by another network.

This show surprised me. It was absolutely amazing. Watching this show brings out a lot of emotions. I thought the advertising for it was good so i gave the show a chance and i am glad i did. At points i couldn't stop smiling then there were points when i wanted to cry then there were points when i just had chills. I haven seen a drama this good in a while. I would defiantly recommend this show to everyone i knew. The acting was amazing. You could tell there was a lot of drama to come between father and son. It is one show you do not want to miss. Plus there is the benefit of there not being any other good shows on that time slot.

I didn't know much about this show before I watched it and I was pleasantly surprised. I soon caught the parallels between Kings and David and Saul.

The show is complex and very well done. It is early, but I can tell I am going to be a huge fan. I am about to say something that I never thought would cross my lips - "good job NBC!" I will be very interested to see how closely it follows the biblical model, because that is a great story.

Perhaps with the success of this show, producers will see that there is a market for Judeo-Christian based entertainment (though I know this isn't exactly that). Now if they would also produce something that I could watch with my 9 year old during prime time they would be on a roll.

This show has that something that attracted me to shows like Battlestar Galactica and Lost, for which I claim to be the greatest shows television has ever seen.

That special thing is taking great characters, relationships and pure drama to the next level by adding great sf story.

This show really isn't a sf, or I don't really see it as one. Here you don't have smoke monsters and great space battles, but you do have an alternate reality of our time. This show is about a modern-day monarchy, royal family and about the problems that would surround them if a King's depicted monarchy would exist in today's world. It actually isn't much different than today's countries like US, China, Russia and such. This show is basically about men who want nothing but power and are willing to sacrifice everything they have to get it, and men who are meant to stop them. (and women too :) Coupled with great performances, really good special effects and awesome soundtrack I believe it could grow to be one of the best shows on television today. I truly hope the network will give it a chance to tell it's story in full. (after all, I presume it is very expensive)

This was a really good show. First off because they have a good cast, granted the only one I knew about was Ian McShane, but nonetheless they were really good actors. The story is unique but also old plot as well. It was knew with the whole 'King' idea which seems to be in a parallel universe, not talking about sci-fi just that we don't have that here. It is a good show that I really enjoyed, I would mind seeing this on for at least a couple of seasons.

I'd wish I could say more but that would be spoiling it for those who haven't seen it yet. All I can say that it is a very enjoyable show that needs to live on. Watch it, that's all I can end with

The story of King David has always been my favorite in the bible. This show brings that story to television, allowing more people to enjoy it, even those who don't read the bible. The modernized aspect of the show makes it even more appealing to today's viewers. The actors to a great job portraying each biblical figure, and are good ones as well. The show is also filmed in a cinematographic way, with great camera-work, lighting, and dialogue. The setting is beautiful, and accurately portrays the biblical Shiloh. In all, I look forward to watching this show every week, and hope that they continue the series with the same quality and momentum each previous episode had.

It's as if you have to wait any more to see if a show is going to make it to fall in love...I can't believe this show may be gone after 1 "season". I watched the first 4 episodes all in a row and was captured from the fist moment. All the characters are written well, they deliver their parts believably and there are some truly great character actors in this series. I didn't want to have another Hollywood diatribe about Bush hidden as "fiction" and it's not. It's loosely based on the Saul and David story a page turner all on its own. I loved the line "Silas has raised his $10,000 and David his $100,000" there is a lot of very clever dialogue in this show and I agree with one of the posters who said it hardly seems like a Network show, its HBO quality. I even paid $1.99 to rerecord the first episode before I realized that they were rebroadcasting on SciFi - this show deserves overwhelming support before it goes the way of Firefly.

Overview: A parallel to the biblical story David and Goliath, this powerful cast highlights the political drama in this modern monarchy. There is only one season, but lots of drama involving the king and his family and of course David, an awarded soldier slowly rising to higher power.

Review after finishing series: The main reason I dislike this show was that it's pace was too slow, but the show had quite a high production value. The actors and costumes were top notch. The build up is slow and I had no reason to come back. However, if you are into political dramas with little heart this is one season you can blow your time on.

One of my favorite new shows. Every episode has been enjoyable and builds the storyline in a good way. I like the quasi biblical feeling to the whole thing; it's epic. My concern is that the story will have to end at some point, and maybe that's an OK thing. It will hopefully burn brightly and end in its own time. I'm glad that IMDb is presenting the episodes here to watch as I do not have HBO. I was surprised to here some criticism of this show as being about religion and God. My opinion is that it's as much about these things as "Battlestar Gallactica" was. Unlike Battlestar Galactica, I find the episodes of Kings to be fuller and more interesting.