I watch it with my daughter.
Brothers & Sisters
(Rated TV-PG, Drama, Starring Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths, Sally Field, Where to watch: ABC, DVD, Online)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Meaty ensemble drama for mature audiences.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 15–18
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Brothers & Sisters was written by Lucy Maher
Parents need to know that this grown-up drama deals with the complex relationships between a group of adult children and their parents. As such, some of the issues the characters deal with -- including marriage counseling, infidelity, and frostiness between a mother and her daughter -- might be too mature (and possibly of little interest) for tweens and younger teens.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the rewards -- and challenges -- of loving and respecting siblings. Why is it important to see past differences and support one another? When siblings fight, feelings get hurt; how can brothers and sisters air their grievances without resorting to arguments? How do teens expect their relationships with their siblings (and their parents) to change as they get older? Who's responsible for maintaining those relationships?
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More on Brothers & Sisters
What’s the Story?
In BROTHERS & SISTERS, five grown-up siblings realize how much they rely on one another when a family tragedy makes them realize that they need to play a much larger role in their parents' lives. When conservative radio host Kitty Walker (Ally McBeal's Calista Flockhart) and her four siblings -- Sarah (Rachel Griffiths), a corporate executive who gives up her job to help her father run the family business; Tommy (Balthazar Getty), her charming brother who also works for their dad; Kevin (Matthew Rhys), a gay lawyer who cautiously guards his heart in the dating world; and Justin (Dave Annable), an Iraq War veteran and baby of the family -- return to their parents' Southern California home to celebrate dad William's (Tom Skerritt) birthday, they find themselves discovering a lot more about one another. They also discover that they must accept their parents as flawed individuals, rather than as the larger-than-life father and mother who raised them. Among the issues the siblings are dealing with are Kitty's cold war with her mother, Nora (Sally Field), who objected to Kitty supporting Justin when he decided to enter the military after 9/11; Sarah's faltering marriage to the affable Joe (John Pyper-Ferguson); and the mismanagement of the family business by both Nora's brother, Saul (Ron Rifkin) and William, who is hiding a secret relationship with Holly (Patricia Wettig).
Is It Any Good?
Produced by Ken Olin (Alias and thirtysomething), Jon Robin Baitz (The West Wing), and Greg Berlanti (Everwood), it's no suprise this show is well-acted and well-written. Brothers & Sisters should entertain adults, who will nod in recognition at the ins and outs of the marital and family relationships the show portrays. But the subtleties of the script may be lost on kids -- even younger teens -- and the adult themes explored in each episode (infidelity, politics, years of resentment, etc.) are definitely aimed at grown-up fans.
Our Members Say
See 3 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- My highlights are:
Good
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I rate this title iffy for age 15 and give it
On my weekly DVR list!
My wife and I watch Brother's and Sisters weekly. Its an engaging show with wide audience appeal and great for sparking discussion. Highly recommended!
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I rate this title on and give it
Dysfunctional family? Not.
Absolutely terrific new show now entering its second season. Sally Field may have carried away the surprise Emmy (deservedly), but Rachel Griffiths, alumna of HBO's award-winning "Six Feet Under", is an incredible dramatic actor and IMO is the class of the show. A winning revelation of how real families deal with their issues and pull together at the end of the day. A "dysfunctional family" never looked so good: in fact, this is probably the healthiest family you will see on television. Highly recommended.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 33% | of parents say it gives kids positive messages |
| 33% | of parents say the sexual behavior isn't age appropriate |
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