that were actually being mandated. Regarding the impetus for the choice of the shows he makes: in an interview on Slate, Simon referred to the concept of reportorial instinct, which comes from the efforts by journalists to create new discussion points that are centered upon issues of societal friction; with Show Me a Hero, Simon's methodical instinct is to focus on these. The idea is not part of a larger whole, a bigger picture, with each of his shows taking up real estate within that vision; it is both disparate and less organized than a global overview. He is not trying to duplicate The Wire, he's trying to tell a new story here. The name of both the show and the book that it is based upon comes from an F. Scott Fitzgerald quote: "Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy." Release Broadcast The miniseries premiered in Canada on HBO Canada on August 16, 2015 – airing concurrently with the American broadcast. It premiered in Australia and the United Kingdom on August 17, 2015, on Showcase and Sky Atlantic, respectively. The miniseries was released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 2, 2016. Episodes In the United States, HBO broadcast the miniseries in 2-hour blocks on consecutive Sunday nights. Reception Critical response Show Me a Hero received critical acclaim from reviewers although U.S. cable original programming viewership was low. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 96% 'Certified Fresh' approval rating with an average rating of 8.6/10 based on 54 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Show Me a Hero is an impressively crafted period drama whose timely themes prove as absorbing as its engaging, compassionately drawn characters." On Metacritic, it has a score of 85 out of 100 based on 33 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter cited the strong storytelling as making the unsexy story rewarding, with a commendably even focus on both racism as well as the problems of systemic bias of public housing systems. Ginia Bellafante of The New York Times focused on the relevance to current day issues of race and economics. Oscar Isaac received universal praise. Alan Sepinwall from HitFix cited his performance as being especially strong, describing him as compulsively watchable even during long scenes with a lot of dialogue, while Daniel Fienberg of The Fien Print said Isaac is the key to the story and