Viewership Whip Media's viewership tracking app,
TV Time, which tracks viewership data for the more than 25 million worldwide users of its
TV Time app, reported that
Tell Me Lies ranked among the top ten most-streamed original series in the United States from the week ending September 8 to the week ending October 20, 2024. TVision, which utilizes its TVision Power Score to evaluate
CTV programming performance by factoring in viewership and engagement across over 1,000 apps and incorporating four key metrics—viewer attention time, total program time available for the season, program reach, and app reach—announced that
Tell Me Lies was in the top fifteen of the most-streamed series in the United States for the week of September 2–8. It remained in the top twenty from September 23 to October 20.
Tell Me Lies remained in Hulu's "Top 15 Today"—a daily updated list of the platform's most-watched titles—for over 50 consecutive days throughout and following its Season 2 run. The
Tell Me Lies Season 3 premiere generated 5 million views globally across Disney+ and Hulu within its first seven days of streaming, representing a 150% increase compared to the Season 1 premiere over the same period.
Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on certain U.S. television screens, reported that
Tell Me Lies generated 391 million minutes of watch time from January 12—18, ranking as the eighth most-streamed original series during that week. The Season 3 finale drew more than 3.5 million views in its first day on Disney+ and Hulu, an increase of nearly 70% over the premiere's same-day audience.
Critical response The
review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes reported a 75% approval rating based on 12 critic reviews.
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 65 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Angie Han of
The Hollywood Reporter said
Tell Me Lies works effectively through its nuanced portrayal of the toxic relationship between Lucy and Stephen. Han found that the show's deliberate ambiguity about Stephen's character enhances the psychological depth, setting it apart from typical romance dramas. Han stated that the series captures the era's hookup culture with insight and nostalgia. Despite some slow-moving subplots, she noted that the performances and sharp realism create a compelling blend of guilty pleasure and reflective drama. Steve Greene of
IndieWire gave
Tell Me Lies a B grade, noting that the series straddles a middle ground between idealizing and mortifying college life. Greene found the series' portrayal of the characters' passionate yet toxic relationship compelling but felt that its focus on a tight-knit friend group sometimes limited its broader depiction of college life. Greene praised the performances, especially the nuanced portrayal of Stephen as an enigmatic figure, and appreciated the show's slow-burn approach to developing its central drama. However, he noted that the show's contained narrative and tidy presentation somewhat hinder its potential for greatness. Elizabeth Logan of
Glamour described
Tell Me Lies as a drama with appealing visuals and a complex web of secrets, reminiscent of
Big Little Lies but with a slower, more frustrating pace. While the show offers intriguing subplots and strong performances, particularly from Jackson White and Katey Sagal, Logan said it struggles with drawn-out revelations and a disconnect between its dramatic elements and realistic portrayal of college life. Logan found the show engaging yet uneven, hoping it will improve in a potential second season with better pacing and sharper dialogue. Katherine Smith of
Paste rated
Tell Me Lies seven out of ten and said that the show features some positive elements, such as Catherine Missal's nuanced performance, which adds emotional depth and authenticity. Smith also found that the melodramatic subplots offer moments of engagement. However, she stated that the show falls short of transcending typical college romance and melodrama tropes, with its focus on the destructive and eroticized relationship between Lucy and Stephan lacking meaningful insight into toxic relationships. The third season has a 100% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 6 critic reviews.
Accolades The series was one of 200 television series that received
the ReFrame Stamp for the years 2022 to 2023. The stamp is awarded by the gender equity coalition
ReFrame and industry database
IMDbPro for film and television projects that are proven to have gender-balanced hiring, with stamps being awarded to projects that hire female-identifying people, especially women of color, in four out of eight key roles for their production. ==References==