What the critics are saying about the new 'Party of Five'

The timely remake of the 90s classic 'Party of Five' is coming to SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand this April and you won't want to miss it, but don't just take our word for it.

Source: SBS

From the creators of the original Party of Five, this modern-day update tackles the issue of deportation in the US. When Gloria and Javier Acosta are taken to a detention centre awaiting return to Mexico, their five children are left behind. The eldest, 24-year-old Emilio, takes on the challenge of not only caring for his younger siblings, including a baby, but also trying to keep his music career alive and the family restaurant afloat. This sadly timely series is moving but also uplifting.

Reviews from the reboot have been extremely positive with the show currently sitting at 96% on

Rotten Tomatoes

"The underlying message of this lovely series enables the audience to hold nostalgia and a bracing sense of reality in their heads and hearts all at once, and that's a rare and special thing."

- Jen Cheney Vulture

"This new Party of Five matters more and contains a vital relevance that the previous version never did."

- Melanie McFarland Salon.com

"Keeping its focus to this one family, and distinguishing each member of it as their own person, 2020’s “Party of Five” finds a way to balance its political dissections with its characters’ individual journeys, thus underlining its points even more effectively."

- Caroline Framke Variety

Party of Five Source: Supplied

"This reboot of the mid-’90s cryfest Party of Five is that it was rebooted with a purpose, not just to reboot a ’90s favorite for a new generation... has a fresh perspective that’s tied up in current events but not in a way where it’s hammering you over the head with it."

- Joel Keller Decider

"A Gen X classic gets an added dose of urgency...one of the few TV reboots to offer meaningful updates while recapturing much of the magic of the original."

- Danette Chavez AV Club

"The new version of Party of Five... is a timely reinterpretation of the original, a remix with meaning."

- Willa Paskin Slate

"Creators Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman ingeniously reimagine their story as a portrait of a loving family torn apart by political forces... The show ultimately appeals to our empathy more than our political allegiances."

- Judy Berman TIME

Season 1 of Party Of Five
airs on SBS VICELAND on Friday nights at 8:30pm. All episodes are also now streaming at SBS On Demand: