 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Day Break
Common Sense Media says
One bad day lasts forever. Too bloody for kids.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this intense Groundhog Day-meets-24 thriller follows a police detective on the run. Scenes include gun battles in which people are killed. Viewers see a main character get shot and killed at close range, with blood splattering against a window as a result. In one scene, a character removes a bullet from another person using a pair of pliers. Anticipation of violence is constant, providing lots of tension. Children are sometimes threatened. In at least one scene, a couple showers together, with oblique references to sexual activity.
What's the story?
Taye Diggs stars as Detective Brett Hopper, a cop wrongly accused of murder, in the tense, action-packed thriller DAY BREAK. Set in Los Angeles and delivered in choppy bits and pieces of tight shots and color-saturated scenes, the series takes a page from the classic comedy Groundhog Day and turns it on its head. Each morning, Hopper wakes up in the same day, scrambling to find a way to exonerate himself and protect the people he loves. Along the way, Hopper finds out that the crime he's accused of -- murdering the assistant district attorney -- is connected to many people, making for a very tangled web to unwind.
Is it any good?
The show's complexity, along with the tense momentum, makes it hard to resist, despite its somewhat gimmicky nature. Though some events remain the same each time Hopper wakes up and does the day over, he finds that his choices can change the course of events. As one of his enemies says again and again, "For every decision, there is a consequence." If Hopper skips coffee, someone dies. If he protects one loved one, another gets hurt. As the day repeats, Hopper tries to gather enough information to get at the truth; along the way, he learns what he really cares about.
Both Diggs and Moon Bloodgood (who plays Hopper's girlfriend, Rita) are gorgeous, making the show easy to watch despite the gallons of blood shed throughout the course of each episode. But the pace is intense and the gunshots frequent, making Day Break stuff for mature teens and adults only.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the show's narrative structure. What's appealing about the repeating-day format? How does the concept help or hurt the story? How far do you think producers can take the idea -- how would it play out over several seasons? What would you do if you found yourself living the same day over and over again? What if the only way to make it stop repeating was to sacrifice a loved one? What do you think about the idea that "for every decision, there is a consequence"?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
Interesting Twist On the Groundhog Day Concept
I thought the first episode was pretty good. There is quite a bit of violence, but nothing real graphic. They've done a good job of developing the mysterious part of the plot to keep you interested even though the same day keeps repeating. The interesting thing will be to see how well they are able to keep the episodes that way as time goes on.
Was this review useful?
|
|
| TV rating: | TV-14 |
| Networks: | ABC, TV One |
| Cast: | Adam Baldwin, Moon Bloodgood, Taye Diggs |
| Genre: | Drama |
Review It
Great alternatives handpicked by our editors
Already seen it? What do you think?
More from Common Sense Media
Top advice and articles
