Critics had praise for the cast and the pilot episode in particular. Troy Patterson of Slate wrote, "The next four episodes are nowhere near as patient and controlled as that cinematic pilot, but, man, are they Irish: the wakes, the neon shamrock, the epigraphs from W.B. Yeats and D.P. Moynihan. And the show keeps this magnificent blarney up even as it swipes half its ideas from the playbooks of Scorsese and The Godfather." In Slant Magazine, Emily St. James wrote, "It’s not horribly original stuff, but on basic network television, where the same handful of shots seems to turn up on every show, it feels strikingly fresh." John Leonard of New York called it "accomplished and absorbing television".
