I Know What You Did Last Summer

Many characters are people of color, but their race is not referred to and the central group of friends all seem like similarly privileged and empty-headed teens, while the action is centered on a young, thin, White woman. This show is set in Hawaii, a state with a large population of indigenous people, but the culture of Hawaii is reduced to images of tiki torches and references to Hawaiian food. At least one character is pansexual, and his sexual identity is considered no big deal by his family and friends.

An accidental death plays a central role in this drama; expect to see a dead body shown at length (it looks like the person is sleeping) as well as blood, a decapitated animal head dripping blood, and other gruesome sights. Characters are suddenly dispatched by a shadowy murderer in the style of a 1980s-era slasher movie.

A man's penis is visible in a non-sexual scene in which we see him peeing into a pool at a party. In another scene, a man's bare buttocks bang rhythmically against a window, presumably during sex. A young woman is told she "f--ks" to get privileges and we learn that she had sex with a high school teacher in order to get a grade, which the drama seems to blame on her solely. Expect kissing and dating as well as makeout sessions that wind up with a couple tumbling into bed before the camera cuts away. A character gives another graphic instruction on how to perform oral sex on a man. Sexual betrayal is an element of the plot.

Cursing includes "f--k," "s--t," as well as vulgar words for female genitals that are used to imply characters being rude, or cowardly: "c--t," "p---y."

A main character smokes cigarettes and offers one to another character, who takes it, saying "as long as they’ll kill me." Teens at a party drink something from plastic cups, and in one scene partygoers chant at a main character to make him drink. A main character sells drugs, which this show seems to regard as sensible given her status as a lower-middle-class teen in an upper-middle-class milieu; we see her delivering drugs to other teens at a party, including ketamine in a nasal spray, which the client then uses before dancing wildly and having sex with another partygoer. We see teens smoking from pipes, snorting lines of white powder, and gleefully drinking and using drugs in a car in which the driver says she's "very f--ked up" (they wind up in a terrible car crash).

Parents need to know that I Know What You Did Last Summer is a downbeat mystery/suspense drama -- based on a 1973 YA adult novel that was also adapted into a hit movie of the same name in 1997 -- with lots of iffy content. The drama is built around an accidental death that turns into a coverup, with a victim and perpetrator who are different than in the book and movie. Expect to see a dead body at length (with some blood on the head but basically looking asleep), somewhat bloody slasher-style murders that are heavy on the stalking, and gruesome sights like a (not very realistic looking) decapitated animal's head. Drugs play a major part in the narrative; one character sells drugs, and viewers see her delivering drugs like ketamine in a nasal spray that another character sniffs and urges a friend to try. Teens drink, smoke from pipes, smoke cigarettes, and snort white powder; some get into a car while "very f--ked up" (this is followed by a car crash). Nudity is both sexual (a man's bare buttocks rhythmically pressing against a window) and non-sexual (a man's penis is visible as he urinates into a pool); there's also flirting, dating, passionate kissing, and references to off-screen sex. One teen accuses another of having sex with a teacher for a better grade. Language includes "f--k," "s--t," "c--t," "p---y." The cast is diverse in terms of race and ethnicity, but the action centers on a White teen, and characters are largely stereotypes who seem like props in a drama in which the really important thing is the old stalk-and-slash.