Dead Eyes
4.8/5
Critic Rating
Actor/comedian Connor Ratliff (The Chris Gethard Show, UCB, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) embarks upon a quest to solve a very stupid mystery that has haunted him for two decades: why Tom Hanks fired him from a small role in the 2001 HBO mini-series, Band Of Brothers.
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Eliana Dockterman • Time • May 26, 2022
"(Episode: Tom Hanks) ...the podcast is surprisingly funny and empathetic."
Score: 5
Patricia Nicol • The Times UK • Apr 10, 2022
"Imagine being the guy, Ratliff posits, whose dreams were torpedoed by everyone’s favourite everyman actor. Last month his podcast reached an apotheosis, a potential endgame: Tom Hanks asked to be his guest. …"
Score: 4.9
Nicholas Quah • Vulture • Mar 18, 2022
"(Episode: Tom Hanks) I took it in with both a sense of excitement and apprehension. Excitement because I was pretty sure Ratliff was going to deliver something genuinely interesting (he did); apprehension because this fun journey has probably come to an end."
Score: 5
Fiona Sturges • Financial Times • Jan 9, 2022
"By rights, the series, which is halfway through its third season, should have ended ages ago. Listening to the early episodes in 2020, I thought it a brilliant idea but a shortlived one. Yet here Ratliff is: indefatigable, still picking at this 20-year-old wound, still disarmingly funny while pondering the perils of working in commercials...That there is still mileage in the podcast is a result of its host’s imagination and self-awareness; no one is more alive to the ludicrousness of this enterprise than Ratliff. "
Score: 5
Emma Dibdin • New York Times • Nov 23, 2021
"This delightfully low stakes yet emotionally engaging Hollywood mystery is hosted by the actor-comedian Connor Ratliff...Now in its third season, “Dead Eyes” has evolved beyond its core mystery to become a broader window into the humiliations of Hollywood, which Ratliff plumbs with such affable warmth that you’ll be rooting for him to finally get the answers he craves."
Score: 4.7
Barry Divola • The Sydney Morning Herald • Aug 27, 2021
"...(Ratliff) he has turned those lemons into lemonade with this funny, yet heartfelt podcast. But he uses his own experience from all those years ago to investigate the broader issue of how we deal with failure and rejection."
Score: 5
Eliana Dockterman • Time • Nov 22, 2020
"Dead Eyes is a funny podcast grounded in pettiness that somehow manages to be relatable rather than obnoxious—in part, perhaps, because of its host’s underdog status. But where similar conversations devolve into “man shouting at cloud” status, Ratliff’s knack for self-parody saves, and elevates, his show."
Score: 4
Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian • May 23, 2020
"As an interviewee points out, the show is as forensic as Serial but about something utterly unimportant. Occasionally, I got frustrated with the nutty, self-regarding indulgence. But if you like Ratliff – and he is immensely likable – you will find yourself enjoying this show."
Score: 4.5
Nicholas Quah • Vulture • May 5, 2020
"You could think of the show’s booking history as a map of the interviewer’s interests, or see the lines of questioning as an expression of their worldview. Each episode can offer a different window into the interviewer’s life, and across a body of work, a full picture of that person can be properly pieced together. These narrative portions are well-written and compelling in their delivery; they are often the most effective elements of the podcast."
Score: 5
Sarah Larson • New Yorker • Apr 13, 2020
"In probing themes of opportunity, rejection, and turning failure into art, Ratliff and his guests (including Jon Hamm, Rian Johnson, and Aimee Mann) manage a level of entertainment and tonal nuance that is, frankly, surprising, while fondly connecting those themes to Hanksian touchstones such as “That Thing You Do!” and David S. Pumpkins."
Score: 4.5
Katy Atkin • Stuff NZ • Mar 15, 2020
"As a listener, the ultimate end to this series would be for Ratliff to get the chance to talk to Tom Hanks. The interconnectedness of the entertainment business makes this a possibility but it's not a fixed ending and I think you'll enjoy Ratliff's reflective and comedic journey along the way. The interconnectedness of the entertainment business makes this a possibility but it's not a fixed ending and I think you'll enjoy Ratliff's reflective and comedic journey along the way."
