Killjoys (2015–2019) User Reviews (145)

Light-hearted and enjoyable

[kevleewrightimdb · 8/10 · 30 June 2015]

It's such a relief to see Brit playing the lead character rather than the clichéd "bad guy". I, for one, was never convinced by the idea that the universe would somehow be exclusively populated by Californians.

Okay... so it's not "deep" or hardcore sci-fi, and some of the characters are a little 2-dimensional; but it seems to have potential to improve here, and it's just plain enjoyable nonetheless. Thankfully they haven't made the cardinal sin of just ignoring the laws of physics for the sake of a storyline (yes Fringe, I'm looking at *you*), and the level of comedy seems well balanced.

Definite overtones of Firefly, also maybe a bit of SG1 and possibly even shades of Farscape (without the aliens). I'm curious to see where it goes.

Good banter but dull otherwise

[mj_jernigan · 6/10 · 10 October 2020]

I'm in the middle of the fourth season. Is this really a scifi show? It's hard to tell aside from the shiny gadgets. Certainly not the space opera it wants to be. The only clues that this is a show that takes place in a space-age era are the occasional blips of space and spaceships. Otherwise, it feels like it all takes place in a pretty small world.

If you want to believe regardless that this a space show, all that goes out the window when you see things like a slow and drifting space capsule somehow find a planet in some far-off system in mere days, somehow not burn up in the atmosphere, and crash land safely. Distant stars are mere hours away while closer ships are days away??? It just depends on the laziness of the writers in resolving plot stuff.

Speaking of lazy writers, I'm tired of ultra-super-human geek characters that are at least 100 times more unrealistic than your average action hero that survives an impossible number of fights. Got a sticky plot situation? Don't worry, just put a computer hacker on it and all your problems will go away in just a few minutes. Such laziness in writing is boring to the point of offensive.

I find myself not caring about the characters or the story arc. They could live or dies, succeed or fail. Who cares? Thus the character development is obviously weak, as is the plot. I do, however, find the banter to be really well written and well delivered by the main characters. I would just like to see that banter and those characters in a more interesting show. The banter makes this show tolerable and a decent watch when I'm stumped for something better.

Above average

[lavransrm · 8/10 · 7 July 2015]

First, a response to one review which said:"The story was happening in some remote Galaxy, but strangely enough, there is only human in that galaxy." No, not a galaxy far,far away. A star system reasonably close to Earth, in this galaxy. The first thing that a sci-fi fan needs to get straight is the real astronomy involved. As soon as they start talking about galaxies, you can usually just move on. This series appears to postulate a future in which FTL drive has enabled humans from Earth to move out into the spiral arm of this galaxy, and settle on various planets. While the astronomy of habitable worlds as satellites of a gas giant is stretching it a bit, it works well enough for our purposes. This scenario also appears to be lacking in aliens, indicating that none have (yet) to be encountered. But the real fun is the way that our little crew gets out there and has real adventures. I expect that more background and backfill will add some depth. The griping about poor acting, shallowness and general lack of grand drama is not appropriate to this kind of show. In fact, it's a pleasure to be spared the Grand Themes that plague so much sci-fi on the tube. I am hoping that maybe this show will turn out to be happening in the same universe as Dark Matter, and that our Killjoys get a warrant to go after the Dark matter 6. Whee!

Terrible start, but gets better and better and better

[strassermarlies · 9/10 · 5 January 2019]

I'm only writing this review to tell the people: don't get fooled by the first couple episodes. This show looked like trash. A small and skinny woman with no muscles and no hips is supposed to be a badass fighter and so sexy. Of course she is black too. Diversity! Yeah. The bossy woman (sorry, the actress wasn't convincing AT ALL at the beginning) has two sidekicks, two good looking man. The first one is the typical nice guy, bff material, the other one is a very manly man, a soldier with a war trauma. Of course there is some sexual tension going on between him and the female lead. To make it short: I wasn't impressed. Slow motion scenes and those cringy one liners while fighting ('I like to dance') weren't helping either. I dropped it after episode two, and came back because I had nothing better to watch. Even though it was stupid, I didn't hate it. Well, so why the high rating? This show surprised me from the very beginning with the great world building. It reminds me a lot of Firefly and Cowboy Bebop. It was so excellent and creative in this area, that I was wondering how they decided to go with such cliche characters. The thing is: those characters aren't cliche. They did an incredible job with developing them over time. The chemistry between all of them is great (it reminds me of Supernatural in that matter), the story itself is one of the most suspenseful I have seen in a while. At the end of the day it's sci-fi fantasy and there may be some plotholes, but overall this is the kind of storytelling that I thought wouldn't exist anymore. It is really, really smart. Everything comes together so well, everything is exciting and suspenseful. The show is not too sexual (like many nowadays), but has some mature dialogues I really enjoy. This review doesn't do the show justice, which is a shame. But I tried.

Season 4 blew

[mkj-45504 · 7/10 · 4 November 2018]

Season 4 totally went away from what I liked about the series. Way to much time spent on the green and "the lady". I was bored with it. They need to get back to apprehending warrants, shorter storylines and settling disputes in the quad that don't take up more than 2-4 episodes tops.

Killjoys is great, straight forward sci-fi

[beach-justin · 10/10 · 17 July 2015]

Killjoys is part of SyFy's attempt to reclaim science fiction from JJ Abrams and the CW and it is a positive sign of things to come.

The show, about interstellar bounty hunters, is pretty straight forward and fun. Science fiction should have some science elements to it but Killjoys doesn't fall into the trap of trying to be too clever or sciency. The great Sci-Fi series (Star Trek, Stargate, Dr. Who, etc) were always fun first and then added elements of mystery and future science & technology where appropriate - Killjoys definitely follows that tradition, it is a fun, action oriented series first and foremost and any complications, interpersonal issues, mysteries and cool tech stuff never overwhelms the story. It is fun and easy to watch and follow.

Light space voyage with rich design and characters

[quincytheodore · 7/10 · 20 June 2015]

Killjoys is a sci-fi show about two mercenaries who work for a reclamation agency. Their tasks include capturing high priority target and possible termination for some. The show has a mild quality, offering a bit of humor and good chemistry between the leads. It looks respectably nice, the setting is decorated aptly for its multitude areas such as the slums, high end manor and spaceship interiors. While it mostly follows grayish futuristic tone, it sometimes produces vivid setting and costume which make the visual more appealing.

Soon enough the jobs take them into personal territory as some the principal characters' pasts are introduced. This set-up works by implementing small cast at the core while establishing the universe. Hannah John-Kamen as Dutch, the high ranking bounty hunter is a great cast. She has alluring on-screen presence and is quite capable for the role without shedding too much clothes.

Chemistry with other bounty hunters played by Aaron Ashmore and Luke Macfarlane is pretty good as they exchange banters. However, the show could be trapped in stereotypical love interest or family issue premise. The universe has plenty of diversity; each district is depicted with respective ambiance. Lighting and color tint make them easier to identify. While they are not full blown grand spectacle, the show gives enough foundation for the vistas to work.

Design with the props and costumes is presentable, occasionally giving traditional or cooperate vibe. It looks good enough, fitting for a sci-fi show. There are a few questionable aspects such as the slightly underwhelming effect for combat, action could be more polished and the tired use of harrowing pasts for subplots, but for most part Killjoys generates adequate start for fun treks in the future.

Campy fun

[evolily · 8/10 · 31 July 2015]

This is a very fun, campy space western. It pulls off quite a bit for a low budget, the sets each week do feel genuine- unlike some other shows, every episode doesn't seem to take place in a warehouse or mall. The world building can, at times, seem to take over the character building, although seven episodes in they seem to have struck a happy balance. It's nice to see a variety of female characters who feel dynamic and have power, which is all too often something reserved only for the male characters.

I'm not sold on the background music, at times it can be overpowering and distracting. The intro looks like it came straight out of a late 90s syndicated show. These are largely cosmetic complaints, though. I'm hoping it will stick around, although I'm not sure Syfy understands the potential the show has.

Nowhere near Firefly

[elbleso · 6/10 · 18 August 2015]

Someone compared this show to Firefly. Well, I'd like to correct that mistake right here. The acting comes nowhere near the acting in Firefly. The only one acting within the boundaries of acceptable is the dude from The Following and I still like him much better in The Following. Special effects, especially the weapons fire, sucks the meatballs out of the sky! Watching this show is like watching Josh Whedon having a nightmare. The girl's poor fighting skills are barely masked by "just in time cuts" and/or stunt doubles. The older brother should keep his nostrils shut more often, it might help. Who knows...I'm all out of ideas on this one. I watched 4 episodes and still no trace of improvement. I wont waste anymore time on this and will try to find a good book to read or make coffee or whatever. Everything but this....

Exposition driven

[s3276169 · 5/10 · 24 June 2015]

Killjoys has a catchy title, good sets and props but sadly, like so many drama's these days, at its heart, its exposition driven. That's fine if you like your sci fi lightweight and action focused.

For myself however, I prefer thoughtful series that challenge assumptions and conventions, whilst offering some excitement and a few good special effects along the way. So once again whilst many sci fi fans like myself hope for a series like Firefly to come along we realize that will probably never be the case.Its a shame too, but that seems to be the direction television in general is heading. Small wonder many of us are reacquainting ourselves with our book collections, which may be no bad thing.

Now then, putting my rant to one side what can I say about Killjoys. Story line is a little different but not unfamiliar, mercenaries in space has been done before. The acting quality is hard to gauge, because as I said, this series is driven by exposition. What there is of it seems fine. The key characters and this is tiresome, always look like catwalk escapees. Not a scar or a greasy follicle in sight. Barely believable given the job they are supposed to do. Five out of ten from me. Now then, where's my Heinlein collection?

It's growing on me

[fernandoruizlopez · 8/10 · 17 August 2015]

The one thing I liked the most is that it has some mature dialogs, they feel more real, especially the ones with Aaron Ashmore. Not sure if it's just good writing or if the credit goes to the actors, but they sure do a good job at making us ignore the whole studio- like atmosphere and the somewhat-hard-to-follow greater plot.

All in all, the episodes (so far in s01e09) provide density in character development, original plot and doesn't follow a formula; which is what's making me wanna continue watching.

I've seen many shows featuring fantastic ideas but very poor execution, with some dumb as hell episodes (think Terra Nova or SGU)... I THINK Killjoys wants to tell its story above everything else without filling it with crap as to have more seasons.

Give it a try

season 1 - OK season 2 premier I have concerns

[michaeljtrubic · 7/10 · 2 July 2016]

I think it might be taken off track by special interest.

Lots of bowel references in the dialog of episode 1.

"Poopy - "Shitty" - in addition to the word "asshole" in conjunction with an new flaming homosexual character might mean that the show is being targeted an the double income no kids segment of the population.

I'm concerned because up until this very moment (26 minutes into the season 2 premiere) I thought it was targeted at the largest target market of successful film franchises - "young boys of all ages".

I hope you can remedy this in future episodes and that control of the franchise hasn't been irretrievably lost.

We like hot chicks, sci fi, and less rear end references.

Right, keep the trash and cancel Dark Matter

[electro_nix · 1/10 · 29 March 2020]

Stupidity never achieved so high levels as when they kept this stupid thing going while cancelling Dark Matter which was 5 times better on all counts. This one has poor acting, bad music, bad effects, bad story, bad dialogues, stupid jokes and so on, it should've kept the theme of the intro (stupid animation) and made it all animation that way we wouldn't be so disappointed . Who's scoring this above 5, are they friends and staff ? The person who made the decision to keep this and cancel Dark Matter should be fired on the spot as it clearly shows crass incompetence.

Excellent Show!

[rommie_rules · 10/10 · 20 July 2015]

This show is amazing, because the characters are so likable, lovable, entertaining, they have such great chemistry and interactions!! The acting is top notch, the cgi is superb, the story lines believable and enjoying, spooky sometimes! And they release just the right amount of info for background story reasons every episode! You can't help,but love the show! We need more characters like Dutch out there, a beautiful, kick ass, yet vulnerable woman, LEAD ROLE!!!! She's NO ONES side kick!!!! She even has men as HER sidekicks, it's awesome! And her backstory, who is she, who is Khylen, what has she done, what has he done, will,bite her in the butt, will it bite Johnny? And Dutch and Johnnys relationship is so pure, light, loving, and amazing!!!!! Such love and devotion they have it's truly amazing...

Too noisy...

[Dr_Sagan · 27 June 2015]

It is nice that you can find an ...accordion in deep space. Not to mention ...Shure SM58, a vocal microphone which is produced since 1966! Yet, this series is too noisy. The soundtrack is heavy on the ears, in an effort to present the series more action driven than it actually is. Also there are many slow motions that the actual action doesn't justify.

Anyway. This is another sci-fi series with ...Rob Stewart in it! After "Dark Matter" (which follows after that in scyfy's program) you now have ...Kill Joys. The pilot tries to introduce you to the facts as quickly as possible: There is this semi-hot chick with the soooo original name ...Dutch, who has a license 5 to hunt down criminals for (sooooo original too) ...The Company! What you get with this show is the usual. Many planets with breathing atmosphere to go to. Eastern type bazaars to buy things, European bars to relax, a clever and mildly sarcastic on-spaceship-computer named ...Lucy! There are 2 backstories though you may care (or not). What is with Dutch and her father and what is with Johnny's brother. (Johnny is killjoy of lower rank (3) played by that guy on The Following).

Dutch is played by Hannah John-Kamen. Her acting is sub-par. Some of the viewers might like her eyes or whatever but her voice has a thick bast British accent and she is annoying as hell.

Overall: I don't know. I saw the pilot. I started the 2nd episode and stopped watching after 5-6 minutes.

cool start

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 22 September 2019]

In the Quad planetary system in the J Star Cluster, Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen) and John Jaqobis (Aaron Ashmore) have been inseparable bounty hunters, or Killjoys, working for the RAC (Reclamation Apprehension Coalition). RAC is beyond any government or corporate allegiance where "The Warrant is all". John secretly takes on a kill warrant above his grade for D'avin Jaqobis (Luke Macfarlane), his brother. Dutch helps John to get the warrant canceled as the trio goes off on their wild adventures.

The premise is fine and it's set for an interesting sci-fi cop procedural. Hannah may be the coolest chick on TV. Aaron is the funny one. The trio is fun. Somewhere along the line, the show decides to go crazy with the story and it becomes a mess. It's a confusing mess at times. It's disengaging at other times. It is still fun for what it is. Sometimes, it finds its footing and the show keeps going. I prefer the procedural to some big mystery box especially when the box is a box inside a box inside another box and so on and so on.

good start on a good sci-fi

[bektaskonca · 8/10 · 19 June 2015]

i think this series has a ton of potential first parts was very good and it can become a cult like the Firefly, this movie is in the same line but instead of smugglers crew is made of bounty hunters and it seems they all have their dark past. i can honestly recommend this to any sci-fi lover it is now down to the writers to make this into hit, not making a lazy scripts to put of the punters like me, i was hooked from the get go. watch and decide yourselves i am hardly wrong in my predictions i say if the stories get better with some action this will be a hit series and hopefully they will not cancel this one like they did with Firefly, we the sci-fi lovers in need of a good series.

Dutch, dad and johnny

[natekitboucher · 6/10 · 10 August 2019]

I like this show. I am getting really bored of the Dutch and dav storyline. It just get laid on so thick all the time. Johnny is the best character. It should be more about him.

Interesting show

[judywalker2 · 8/10 · 4 July 2015]

I love Scfy to this show caught my attention. The premise is interesting and the characters are too. I am really intrigued by Dutch's past and I hope we see more of the mysterious man. Johnny is also an interesting character and he and Dutch play off every other well. I am kind of disappointed by D'Avin's character. I don't find him that interesting and he's gets in the way of the story between Dutch and Johnny. I hope they make him a little me interesting or really I don't know why they need him the show would be okay with just Johnny and Dutch. This does remind me a lot of Firefly; I hope people support it and it last a while.

Okay

[carolrmag · 6/10 · 17 September 2017]

I like the genre and this TV show kinda grows on you. I think it could be more engaging. The relationship between characters could be better explored. Some begin and end like a match. They could start on a more calm pace (making us longing for it). Instead, the begin and has quickly they end. There are holes in the plot. The main character could have more depth, The whole story could have more depth. But, it is entertaining and doesn't disappoint within the genre

trying hard to like it but failing miserably

[skintone-38600 · 3/10 · 9 September 2016]

What a pity . I love sci fi, so I have watched the entire first season trying to like this show, but I have failed. Aaron Ashmore is the only good actor, the other 2 are horrendously bad , especially the female lead ( can't remember her name, that's how forgettable this show is ) who is out of place and is terribly miscast. I don't know what demographic it is trying to appeal to. If true hard core sci fi fans like me, forget it, it is far too stupid and shallow. If teenagers who like drugs, loud terrible music, sex and relationship drama, then you are getting closer, but why bother disguising it as cheap sci fi ? Just go with Beverley Hills 90210 with more drugs and sex or whatever. There are a few good concepts where I thought the show might improve. Then the producers just kill it ( killjoys for sure ) with cheap, cheesy sentimentality that belongs to a Spielberg Hollywood drama . Hey, I thought this was Canadian, so I expected much less Hollywood , nauseating, overly done sentimentality. Thank god for Dark Matter, which is everything that Killjoys is not. In every way.

Well this probably one of the most underrated shows of year

[steefan-92 · 8/10 · 26 July 2015]

Show isn't about deep story, with twists all over the place where, writers intentionally mislead viewers, often fooling them to believe that something so obvious is probably wrong because it was easy to figure out.Every one like mystery,trill of it but I am getting under impression that lately there is too much of it, it's present in every TV show.

Now that wouldn't be bad thing if that element is well used but more than half of those TV shows end up in loop and eventually turn in bizarre maze where no one is sure what's going on anymore.As time passes by some TV shows manage to get back on track but ... damage is done.This is what I think is going on with counter part of this show The Dark Matter,however that's discussion for itself.

Killjoys is fast-paced, pack with action TV show , with plot which is interesting enough to keeps your intention and it's predictable but most of the time you don't care.Characters on the other hand are not particularly interesting, or that was in the beginning but as new episodes are released some of them actually scratch my itch to know more about them and for the record I am not talking about Dutch, because that's so classic and it's getting old.

Acting overall isn't bad and since I am not native English speaker, accent don't bother me almost at all.In nutshell this shows is actually refreshing break ,where you can just lay back on couch and enjoy it,that's why it receives 8 from me.

Dirty Lying Visual Jingle-Jangle.

[LouieInLove · 7/10 · 19 July 2015]

I was lured to this show by the title, "Killjoys". I am a very miserable man who revels in the misery of others, so obviously when I knew there was a show called Killjoys I got gloom-wood (look it up you urchins, it's a real thing). Imagine my outrage when I discovered the show is not about like minded woe-bangers, but actually about Space cocks, sorry, cops.

After I got over my initial outrage, I sat & began to watch this televisual gruel. If I'm being honest, it's not that bad. It's visual jingle-jangle, dirty lying visual jingle-jangle, but jingle-jangle nevertheless.

None of the crew look up to the job, the only slight salvation is that one of them is suffering from extreme emotional distress caused by a visit to a laser-tag event.

OK! That's it. I gave the show 7.

A piece of frozen garbage on a stick.

[arnaudlavergne · 2/10 · 13 July 2017]

This show doesn't make any sense. They sell us badass bounty hunters and we get a pathetic trio of cheesy good guys, in half the episodes they actually work against the folks who hired them, and they don't even bother to hide it.

This was such a disappointment, the story is actually not bad, but that's all there is. The rest is messed up, the soundtrack seems to be taken out of a college movie, the heroes are irrelevant, the acting is barely average. There is some decent sci-fi material but the result is very superficial.

Awesome Show!

[GKoeneke · 10/10 · 5 June 2019]

I can't wait for the final season of Killjoys. I don't like that it will be over, but this show is too good not to be excited.

I'm am Extremely Confused what the hell SyFy is doing, through. Killjoys will be over, the Expanse is gone, Nightflyers is cancelled, ZNation is cancelled, Channel Zero is cancelled, I'm not sure if Happy! will make it to season 3. I'm not sure the status of Van Helsing and Wynonna Earp, but when the smoke clears it really looks like they will have The Magicians and Deadly Class?! I"m all for trying new things, meaning 1 season, but I'm starting to think they need to figure out if something is working through a different channel other than trusting those idiotic Nielsen Ratings.......which might be the most idiotic way of of analytically figuring out who and how many people are watching a show. With my background, Yes, that is a fact. So, I guess we are going to have to wait around for SyFy to give us another full batch of 1 Year wonders to try out so they cancel them by listening to Nielsen. I feel like a great channel for producing awesome shows had really just driven itself into the ground. I'm a Horror Novelist and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm finding more interesting content on the CW than SyFy..........I feel like I just Blasphemed!