The reviews are uniformly warm. Most critics single out Jeffrey Tambor’s performance as Maura as the main reason to watch, finding it insightful, nuanced and credible rather than a stunt. Praise also gathers around Jill Soloway’s writing and direction: sharp dialogue, a bittersweet tone, and a Pfefferman family that feels fully lived in, with the sibling rivalries drawing nearly as much notice as the central transition. Several place it alongside the better cable dramas.
The spread is narrow and there is no real dissent. What reservations there are come in small: The AV Club notes some conventional elements and a slow pace in the early episodes, and Paste finds the writing occasionally heavy-handed or over-poetic. The Times, the least enthusiastic, enjoys the comedy but thinks the series remains moralistic about its characters’ sex lives. Nobody argues against the performances or the tone.