Critical response The series was warmly received upon its initial debut in the UK, with
The Guardians Gabriel Tate summarising the series as "the most satisfying, densely plotted TV series for years."
The Honorable Woman (retitled to follow American spelling) premiered in the United States, with strong reviews coming from
The New York Times,
The Washington Post,
New York,
Entertainment Weekly,
Time and the
Los Angeles Times, and received a
Metacritic score of 82 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Particular raves came from Matt Roush of
TV Guide, who described Blick's work as "written and directed with ruthless intelligence," and Tim Goodman of
The Hollywood Reporter, calling the miniseries "a spectacularly well-constructed story—intricate, dense, demanding and rewarding. Specific notices focused on Gyllenhaal—
Hank Stuever of
The Washington Post described her performance as "remarkably measured and moving," while
Alessandra Stanley of
The New York Times said "Ms. Gyllenhaal is remarkable playing a principled but conflicted woman whose quicksilver personality alters from hour to hour and flashback to flash-forward" and on the series' mature treatment of gender roles. Sara Stewart of
Indiewire credited
The Honourable Woman with "upending the sexy spy drama," celebrating it for favouring the protagonist's intellect and interior complexity over romantic and sexual conflict. Sarah Chalmers of
The Telegraph, meanwhile, said: "For here, at last, is a new kind of female protagonist: one not only driving the drama and outwitting the male characters, but looking amazing as she does so." Responses in the UK to the series' conclusion were extremely positive. Julia Raeside of
The Guardian wrote that it concluded as a "taut and perfectly controlled thriller ... something truly special." Nicholas Blincoe of
The Telegraph, claimed that the series achieved the "must-watch" label of the summer. The ending of
The Honourable Woman was met with raves in the US; Willa Paskin of
Slate praised the conclusion, explaining that "
The Honorable Woman, unlike so many series that claim to do so, genuinely complicates notions of villainhood and herodom. It does not shortchange historical atrocity, pooh-pooh grievances, or whitewash systematic injustices." Tim Goodman of
The Hollywood Reporter said, in terms of the series' conclusion, "Few things this dense and ambitious are able to stick the landing when the last act comes, but
The Honorable Woman does it with aplomb." The series ranked on several publications' year-end top 10 lists, including
The Hollywood Reporter, the
Los Angeles Times,
The Wall Street Journal,
The Guardian and
Grantland.
Accolades At the
72nd Golden Globe Awards,
Maggie Gyllenhaal won for
Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film. At the
21st Screen Actors Guild Awards, Gyllenhaal was nominated for
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie. At the
5th Critics' Choice Television Awards, it received three nominations, for
Best Movie/Miniseries, Gyllenhaal for
Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries, and
Janet McTeer for
Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries. The series was nominated for the 2015
TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials.
The Honourable Woman was awarded with a 2014
Peabody Award, with the organisation writing: "A visually rich, densely-plotted thriller set against the backdrop of the
Israeli-Palestine conflict, it suggests complexities and age-old vendettas that often escape even the best documentaries, to say nothing of the evening news." At the
67th Primetime Emmy Awards, the series received nominations for
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Maggie Gyllenhaal for
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, and
Hugo Blick for both
Outstanding Directing and
Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. == Home media release ==