"Army Wives" holds a score of 65 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on fifteen reviews for the first season. Writing for Cinema Blend, Kelly West found the series positively portrays real army wives through its main characters who are "all strong women with a good sense of the importance of friendship, love and appreciating the time they have with their husbands, who are often being deployed overseas for months or longer." She described the series as "engaging", adding: "As a drama about the bonds of friendship and the importance of family, "Army Wives" works. Is it a total chick show? Yeah, I’d say so. It gets a bit soapy but overall, it’s well written, the premise is original and the acting is good." "New York Post" columnist Linda Stasi gave "Army Wives" three-and-a-half out of four stars, referring to it as a "sexy, smart, compelling series", and also lauded the acting and the writing. The "Chicago Tribune" praised Lifetime for tackling, through "Army Wives", the effects war has on the families "in a surprisingly straightforward manner." Reviewing the premiere, Michelle Hewitson of the "New Zealand Herald" wrote: "Anything with 'wives' in the title must mean cat fights. Anything with 'Army' in the title must mean some musing on the cost of war." Brian Lowry of "Variety" was less enthusiastic upon screening the first episodes, describing "Army Wives" as "a stereotypical sudser that wants to be "From Here to Eternity" but feels like "All My Children: Military Edition"." "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" Rob Owen was negative about the show's storylines as they "leave talented actors in their wake"; he described the storylines as "uninspired" and "unimaginative" and wrote that the show's format evokes the home-front portion of "The Unit".