Parents' Guide to One Ocean View

TV ABC Reality TV 2006
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Common Sense Media Review

By Lucy Maher , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

The Real World redux covers Hedonism 101.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

What's the Story?

In ONE OCEAN VIEW, viewers see what happens when a group of New York City twentysomething singles share a summer beach house. The group of 11 Manhattanites who take the ferry to Fire Island each weekend in search of love and laughs includes (among others) 26-year-old health club owner K.J. (the object of two housemates' crushes); Mary, a 24-year-old headstrong fashion designer unafraid to speak her mind; Usman, a smarmy 27-year-old corporate lawyer with an ego to match his bank account (in one epsiode, when one of the women in the house said she'd tell him later what she did for a living, he said \"It better entail a dance on my lap\"); 27-year-old Heather, who has appeared in Playboy; Miki and Radha, 27-year-old twins who experience a bit of sibling rivalry; and on-again, off-again couple Zack and Lauren, who can't seem to cut the cord. Each episode finds the housemates sneaking into each other's beds, frolicking on the beach, picking fights, and lounging in the hot tub. And that's on top of the time they spend doing shots and dancing after dark.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

It's no surprise that One Ocean View is the brainchild of The Real World producers Jonathan Murray and Joey Carson. After all, they've basically taken the format that made MTV's pioneering show so successful -- throw a bunch of strong personalities together in a house, shake, stir, and see what happens -- and re-jiggered it for primetime. There's even an appearance by The Real World: New York heartbreaker Eric. If you're a fan of Real World-type drama and shenanigans, you'll probably enjoy One Ocean View, too, but there's really nothing new here. And parents should know that kids who tune in will get an eyeful of fluffy, for-older-teens-only fare.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the housemates' behavior. Do you think what goes on during the show is typical of young, single people in their situation? Would teens want to take part in this kind of vacation? Why or why not? Families can also talk about alcohol. What makes someone a problem drinker? How can drinking too much get people into trouble?

TV Details

  • Premiere date : July 31, 2006
  • Network : ABC
  • Genre : Reality TV
  • TV rating : TV-14
  • Last updated : September 19, 2019

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