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Season 1 – The River

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – The River Feb 2012 Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
63% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Six months after wildlife expert and TV personality Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood) disappears while searching for magic deep in the uncharted Amazon, his emergency beacon starts blinking. Emmet's wife, Tess (Leslie Hope), rounds up a team consisting of their son, Lincoln, and a crew of old friends to head into the jungle in search of Emmet, agreeing to let the former producer of Cole's show film the expedition in order to fund the expedition. The truth about his disappearance is out there somewhere, waiting to be discovered.
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The River — Season 1

The River — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Despite its gimmicky premise and occasionally silly storylines, The River is a moderately scary and clever supernatural thriller.

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Critics Reviews

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Ken Tucker Entertainment Weekly 02/23/2012
B+
The performances are good but constrained by the parameters of scary-story acting: Go to Full Review
James Poniewozik TIME Magazine 02/07/2012
The River is a highly unrealistic story shot in hyperrealistic style, which is the source of its strengths and some problems. Go to Full Review
Sarah Rodman Boston Globe 02/07/2012
The creators deserve credit for one thing: There is nothing that looks like this show on television right now. Go to Full Review
Rosie Knight Nerdist 09/07/2018
Skarsgård's acting chops make this a must-see oddity. Go to Full Review
Annalee Newitz io9.com 04/11/2018
You may not be terrified while you watch, but you'll definitely be intrigued. Go to Full Review
Michael Landweber PopMatters 02/07/2012
7/10
We hope that it embraces its inner Lost and heads right on in to the heart of darkness. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Some Guy F Jan 28 The mockumentary filming style, aside from being stupid in a non-comedy, makes it hard to watch. Like physically difficult to watch, it's making me seasick. Or is it a comedy? I mean there's a lot of what feels like attempts at humor, though it's not ever actually funny. But it might just be so stupid that I think it's trying to be funny. See more Richard W Dec 13 I cant watch anything in the found footage style ,its just too terrible, the worst movie of all time is the blair witch project ,which may be one of the first to use the found footage technique,and anyone replicating, the blair witch project, even speilberg ,is absolutely ridiculous, they need to stop this nonsense now ,thats why this series was canceled, because of poor ratings, because it was made in the found footage style ,if they would have made it normal it would have done much better See more Miss E 10/31/2024 One of my favorite comfort series. One season truly wasn't enough. I enjoyed how each episode was a new horror. And, it was a good horror series in the few horror TV series that we do get nowadays. I might mention it quietly examines the fine line between hubris/resilience. Loved the cast, as well. See more riley d 08/01/2024 Please Film more episodes of the show as a hit thriller coming back again. Some fans will go lose their minds after some of this time and anticipation I’m losing my mind just seeing the show 4 times I couldnt wait for a new season See more 04/06/2016 The overaching premise of trying to find the lost father was very interesting. It is also suprisingly scary! Some episodes aren't as good as others. The cast as a whole give great performances! The series ends, but not perfectly. They answer a question and then ask another. But even though the other question they ask is very intriguing, and the second season could have been great, (they were actually given an order of 8 episodes for the first season) you aren't THAT angry about it. The series as a whole is well acted, has a very high production value, a great premise, and is very scary. And it ends well enough that you aren't angry! See more 12/04/2013 Very good mini-series, since it did get cancelled. I understand since it could not viably be dragged into an on-going show. Still very entertaining and fun. See more Read all reviews
The River — Season 1

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Feb 7, 2012 Magus Six months after adventurer Dr. Emmet Cole goes missing in the Amazon, his location beacon sends out a signal; Emmet's wife, Tess, along with her son and Emmet's film crew, embark on a journey to find him. Details Episode 2 Aired Feb 7, 2012 Marbeley Dr. Emmet Cole's spirit enters Jahel; the search party comes across a tree covered in dolls; a crew member goes missing. Details Episode 3 Aired Feb 14, 2012 Los Ciegos When the crew of the Magus goes blind from tree spores, lone holdout AJ must overcome his most-paralyzing fear to find a cure before the blindness becomes permanent; the local tribe stalks the crew and judges if they are worthy to stay in the jungle. Details Episode 4 Aired Feb 21, 2012 A Better Man As the search for Emmet continues, the group finds one of his missing crew members exhibiting symptoms of a mystical curse; Lincoln tries to be the moral compass of the group. Details Episode 5 Aired Feb 28, 2012 Peaches Another vessel runs the Magus crew aground; a shocking discovery leads to tears. Details Episode 6 Aired Mar 6, 2012 Doctor Emmet Cole The Magus crew finds Emmet's camera bag containing tapes, leading it further into the Amazon; Lena reveals a secret. Details Episode 7 Aired Mar 13, 2012 The Experiment A cannibalistic terror targets the Magus crew as they investigate an abandoned research facility; Kurt is forced to make a personal sacrifice. Details Episode 8 Aired Mar 20, 2012 Row, Row, Row Your Boat As the Magus travels to the final destination, one of the crew is shot; Jahel asks a spirit for help. Details
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Season Info

Director
Dean White, Michelle MacLaren, Gary Fleder, Rob Bailey, Kenneth Fink, Michael Katleman, Jaume Collet-Serra
Executive Producer
Michael Green, Oren Peli, Zack Estrin, Jason Blum, Steven Schneider
Screenwriter
Michael Green, Soo Hugh, Wendy Battles, Aron Eli Coleite, Glen Morgan, Michael R. Perry, Zack Estrin, Oren Peli
Network
ABC
Rating
TV-14 (L|V)
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date
Feb 7, 2012