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Halt and Catch Fire

Hacker Approved

A drama about the 1980s–90s computer industry, praised for capturing the era and its people, though some found it weaker after season one and technically unrealistic.

Summarized from 224 comments.

A drama about the 1980s–90s computer industry, praised for capturing the era and its people, though some found it weaker after season one and technically unrealistic.

recommend
166
criticize
20
months recommended
7 of 13

Why people love it

  • Captures early computing industry era · 9

    What HACF got right, imho, was the collection of the various personalities that were attracted to the rising computer technology

    May 2026 · comment

    Probably the best example of what life is like as a technical person mostly working in startups and bleeding edge technology

    Feb 2026 · comment

    the show itself had a very well researched yet very nostalgic sense of "oh yes. I'd forgotten about that"

    May 2026 · comment
  • Complex characters and strong acting · 5

    Everyone gets treated even handedly, no 2 dimensional heroes and villains, just a load of people trying to build something while their egos get in the way.

    Feb 2026 · comment

    What HACF got right, imho, was the collection of the various personalities that were attracted to the rising computer technology

    May 2026 · comment

    The actor really gave that character life, and impact when the death happened, great talent.

    May 2026 · comment
  • Later seasons and finale shine · 5

    My all-time favorite. Compaq had a compelling story, and I liked where the writers went after the first season.

    Feb 2026 · comment

    one of the few shows that advanced the storyline quite a bit threw the seasons without jumping the shark

    May 2026 · comment

    reviews are good (so it's not just this guy who liked it) and they got better as the show went on

    Feb 2026 · comment
  • Rewatchable all-time favorite · 3

    Literally this is the best show I’ve ever seen. If I’m ever burnt out at work I rewatch it

    Feb 2026 · comment

    The series is a memorable instance of what any self-respecting geek ought to have watched.

    Feb 2026 · comment

    I've watched that series 3 times. It is very good..one of my all time faves, actually.

    Feb 2026 · comment

What people warn about

  • Drops off after first season · 6

    Season 1 was absolutely killer. I like that they tried to capture different eras per season, but subsequent seasons got progressively weaker.

    Feb 2026 · comment

    I loved the first season, but after that it felt silly making the same people invent basically everything in the computer world.

    Feb 2026 · comment

    I made it through the first season which was okay, but I couldn't get myself to finish the second one, it was just bad.

    Feb 2026 · comment
  • Noticeable technical inaccuracies · 5

    It's quite good, but it gets very Six Feet Under by the end, and you have to suspend a lot of disbelief about technology

    Feb 2026 · comment

    World class hacker that literally types one finger at a time, like she had never used a keyboard before.

    May 2026 · comment

    It also annoyed me that the Commodore 64s used for their online service were shown with DOS prompts.

    Feb 2026 · comment
  • Unrealistic, corny tech premise · 3

    The show felt like it was written by people who imagined what it must have been like rather than people who had any experience of it.

    Feb 2026 · comment

    I loved the first season, but after that it felt silly making the same people invent basically everything in the computer world.

    Feb 2026 · comment

    very good if you're into the whole fantasy of tech entrepreneurship of the 80's/90's, but kinda corny when you think about it

    Feb 2026 · comment
  • Unlikeable characters, soapy drama · 3

    It's quite good, but it gets very Six Feet Under by the end, and you have to suspend a lot of disbelief about technology

    Feb 2026 · comment

    It was engrossing as all hell, but it's one of the only shows I ever finished while really not liking it.

    Feb 2026 · comment

    the character you're describing as so convincing and charismatic is so dramatically unlikeable

    Feb 2026 · comment

What hackers pick instead

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 224 comments. Each links to the original.

  1. Everyone gets treated even handedly, no 2 dimensional heroes and villains, just a load of people trying to build something while their egos get in the way.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  2. Season 1 was absolutely killer. I like that they tried to capture different eras per season, but subsequent seasons got progressively weaker.

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  3. The show felt like it was written by people who imagined what it must have been like rather than people who had any experience of it.

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  4. I loved the first season, but after that it felt silly making the same people invent basically everything in the computer world.

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  5. What HACF got right, imho, was the collection of the various personalities that were attracted to the rising computer technology

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire”

  6. very good if you're into the whole fantasy of tech entrepreneurship of the 80's/90's, but kinda corny when you think about it

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  7. Probably the best example of what life is like as a technical person mostly working in startups and bleeding edge technology

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  8. It's quite good, but it gets very Six Feet Under by the end, and you have to suspend a lot of disbelief about technology

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  9. My all-time favorite. Compaq had a compelling story, and I liked where the writers went after the first season.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  10. It was engrossing as all hell, but it's one of the only shows I ever finished while really not liking it.

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  11. the show itself had a very well researched yet very nostalgic sense of "oh yes. I'd forgotten about that"

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire”

  12. one of the few shows that advanced the storyline quite a bit threw the seasons without jumping the shark

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire”

  13. It was a fun show. I really enjoyed it, a fictional run through the 80s and 90s computing industries.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire”

  14. I got really disappointed at the mainframe booting into PC-DOS with a CGA font on a 3278 terminal.

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  15. reviews are good (so it's not just this guy who liked it) and they got better as the show went on

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  16. It shows the link between big oil and companies in Texas and then computing moving to California.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire”

  17. The show successfully gives enough to people to haven't lived in that era. It's an amazing show.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  18. The 97% that they got completely right was ruined by the 3% that that they got wildly wrong.

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  19. Season 1 was great. 2 is meh. 3 is probably the last one I'll watch, as I'm losing interest.

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  20. The actor really gave that character life, and impact when the death happened, great talent.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire”

  21. Donna and Cameron's relationship vastly more interesting than Gordon (the skeptic) and Joel

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  22. Literally this is the best show I’ve ever seen. If I’m ever burnt out at work I rewatch it

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  23. The series is a memorable instance of what any self-respecting geek ought to have watched.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  24. The acting of Lee Pace and Mackenzie Davis in particular are so good across all 4 seasons.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire”

  25. Seasons 3 and 4 did a really good job of capturing what it was like being in the industry

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  26. I think the last episode is brilliant. I think about it a lot even years after seeing it.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire”

  27. Everything is period correct and then the clothes and cars too: it's all very well done.

    Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “AI Is a Horse (2024)”

  28. The characters and plot are the fictionalized early days of computing made entertaining.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  29. I've watched that series 3 times. It is very good..one of my all time faves, actually.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  30. I made it through the first season which was okay, but I couldn't get myself to finish the second one, it was just bad.

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  31. World class hacker that literally types one finger at a time, like she had never used a keyboard before.

    Criticizes · May 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire”

  32. It also annoyed me that the Commodore 64s used for their online service were shown with DOS prompts.

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  33. the second season is by far some of the worst storytelling and acting I've ever seen on a screen

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  34. the character you're describing as so convincing and charismatic is so dramatically unlikeable

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  35. the entire second season gives me that feeling of embarrassment, I couldn't finish the show

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  36. There's something intangible and hard to describe about the series. The writers have a way of making it transcend it's core drama

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  37. I enjoyed the actual entrepreneurial endeavoring in the show, but I would have preferred if it was a bit drier.

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  38. besides already recommended Fringe, Millennium and Halt and catch fire I enjoyed at same time as X Files in 90s

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “The X-Files Has Made Me Nostalgic for a Time I Never Experienced”

  39. I loved this show but in the beginning they put too much emphasis on Lee Pace's character for my taste.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  40. It's a tech story wrapped in a soap opera wrapped in one of the all time finest soundtracks ever played

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

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