The Surprising Jeff Daniels Miniseries That Blew Up Netflix
"Dumb and Dumber" star Jeff Daniels is no stranger to the world of television and streaming, having starred in lauded shows like HBO's "The Newsroom" and Hulu's "The Looming Tower." However, few projects on the actor's seasoned filmography have made the splash like his latest: "A Man in Full," an original Netflix series where Daniels plays Charles Croker, an Atlanta real estate kingpin who has to get down and dirty when everything he's worked for begins to crumble down.
The miniseries consists of only six episodes, but apparently that's all it took to capture everyone's attention. During the show's debut week (it came out May 2), it ranked second on Netflix's Top 10, garnering 28 million viewing hours. The following week, "A Man in Full," based off the Tom Wolfe novel of the same name, dropped to third and racked up 30 million viewing hours, beating out the first two seasons of "Bridgerton," Katt Williams' latest special, "Woke Foke," and a slew of other projects. The show remained on Netflix's Top 10 until May 19, no small feat since it ended up competing with the scandalous "Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal" documentary and the first half of "Bridgerton" Season 3.
"A Man in Full" sees Daniels joined by heavy-hitters like Diane Lane and Lucy Liu, with Oscar winner Regina King even taking part to direct half of the series. While the show may boast an incredible cast and crew, and while it clearly succeeding in pulling in the viewers, it didn't seem to stick the landing with critics.
Jeff Daniels' homerun on Netflix hasn't garnered the greatest reviews
On IMDb, "A Man in Full" holds an average rating of 6.5/10. However, over on Rotten Tomatoes, things are a tad bit more negative. The Netflix miniseries currently boasts a sour 47% with critics on the review aggregator. While Jeff Daniels and his castmates received praise for their performances, it seems even the "positive" reviews couldn't hold back in ripping the series.
Case in point, "Movies and Munchies" host Chris Joyce's review: "This has merit if you want to watch talented actors chew through their scenes and each other, but once it's ended, I think you'll have a difficult time remembering why it was even happening to begin with." Meanwhile, Joel Keller of Decider wrote in a "fresh" review that "Really, the only reason to watch A Man In Full is to see Daniels swagger his way through six episodes as Charlie Croker."
Anita Singh of the Daily Telegraph didn't shy away from writing how the Netflix series failed to match the drama of one of HBO's greatest shows. "There are hints of Succession – family troubles, talk of money, Croker yelling about 'the Boeing' – but the series is nowhere near the same league. You wait for the drama to ramp up but it never quite does." So far, it seems audiences may be in agreement with the critics, with general viewers giving "A Man in Full" a 44%.