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The Bedford Diaries

(Rated TV-14, Drama, Starring Milo Ventimiglia, Penn Badgley, Victoria Cartagena, Where to watch: WB)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 16, age appropriate for kids over 18; suggested age 16.

  • Is it any good?

    2.0

  • Common Sense says

    College students gone wild. For mature viewers.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 16–18

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    College students hook up frequently for casual sexual encounters; undergraduates have relationships with married professors; students mock a character who survived a suicide attempt. On the plus side, the cast is fairly diverse, and lessons are learned after some relationships gone wrong.

  • Violence:

    Not an issue.

  • Sex:

    The main characters all take a sexual behavior seminar in which they delve into their own sexual histories in detail (for homework, they record racy video diary confessionals). Since this is basically a soap opera, sex plays a starring role in the characters' interactions outside of class, too.

  • Language:

    Fairly tame ("hell," "ass," "son of a bitch").

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Social and underage drinking (typical for the college setting); one character is a recovering alcoholic.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About The Bedford Diaries

Parents need to know that while this steamy, teen-targeted series takes place on a college campus, it's a lot more soap opera than study hall. Both in and out of the central sexual behavior seminar, titillating topics and behavior are the norm: students record voyeuristic videos, a married professor has an affair with multiple female students, a predatory sophomore makes a naïve freshman her conquest. Additionally, one character has returned to campus after a suicide attempt.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about sex and voyeurism. Many of the teens who will be watching this show probably haven't had sex yet. What are their expectations? Their fears and concerns? Why is the idea of listening in on someone else's confessions so thrilling? Also, are the situations depicted in the series realistic? Do the characters seem like the type of people you really expect to meet in college?
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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Adult Reviewer
    iiiiiqra
    Lives in New Jersey
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
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