Parents' Guide to

Stranger Things

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Dark 1980s-set sci-fi/horror drama is gory but great.

Stranger Things Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 477 parent reviews

age 11+

Depends On The Kid

Stranger Things Is My Favourite Show, It’s absolutely brilliant. My 12 year old is obsessed, and finished season 4 the day it came out. It’s a really great show, and, even though it’s seen as a horror show, it’s not very scary, I don’t think there are any jump scares, and even if there are, they aren’t going to make you jump around and scream as we know some movies can. This shows brilliant as it delivers scares in more of the sense of mystery and not knowing what’s really happening, and that can add to the chills of the show. It’s also set in the 80s, so any 80s kids will love the nostalgia. Now I’m moving into what might be scary or whatnot and there might be spoilers from here on, read with caution. SPOILERS Ok, so, I’m going to now say what may be a bit chilling for your child. I’m basing this off mine, so, if your child can watch the hunger games without any problem, then this will probably be fine, it’s not much worse. Anyway, Season 1 isn’t too gory or anything, apart from the depiction of a dead deer with lots of blood and wounds and later on on the last episode, the people are killed by Eleven when she makes them bleed out their eyes and fall to the floor dead, later when they show there bodies, there is a lot, and i mean a LOT, of blood on the floor. But nothing too bad. They also show when she’s in the lab she smashes a guard against the wall and breaks all the bones in the others body, the crackling of all the bones completely shattering can be slightly disturbing, again, depends on the kid. Now, season 2, it’s definitely worse, but still not bad enough for a young teen to watch. There’s depictions of a child having a seizure, and screaming and going mad as he’s taken over by the mind flayer, but it’s not very disturbing. There’s also a monster that kills a cat, which might upset some sensitive children. The worst there really is is when in the end, Bob is mauled to death by Demodogs, which made me cry as he was such a good character, Joyce screaming really added to the effect. His bloody body can be disturbing as the camera pans away from his dead body with bite marks all over this neck and stomach. Now, Season 3, this is less scary but way more gory, there are people screaming as they are melted alive into a pile of flesh that the mind flayer uses to accumulate a physical form, and this could scare some sensitive children. There’s also a psychotic man chasing them around the hospital covered in blood. There’s a man who’s shot and killed, a hitman trying to kill Hopper, and Russians drugging and beating Steve up to give them answers. The end is relatively sad as Hopper is blown up and Billy is impaled and killed by the mind flayer. There are also some sexual jokes in this season, but they will fly over kids heads as they are relatively discrete unless you know what you’re looking for. Season 4, definitely the scariest, and maybe more of an older 12 year old to watch this, you need to be quite mature. There are people being snapped and distorted and getting there eyes pulled out by an evil force, which is chilling at first, but not too bad for older kids, there’s also very graphic violence towards small children as they are smashed against a wall or get there bones snapped and their eyes pulled out. There’s also a small rabbit that gets tortured and killed, a man who cut his eyes out with razor blades and his eye sockets filled with pus. Overall this season is very dark and gory but still so brilliant like the rest of the show. It really depends on your child’s maturity.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
58 people found this helpful.
age 15+

15+ Definitely Not Younger, Unless???

Really, some adults saying 9+??? Guess that's why we have 4th and 5th graders swearing at their peers and teachers at school, nasty attitudes toward adults, and elementary aged kids hyper-sexualized at such a young age. I am an adult male (teacher), and not a prude by any means, but there is just too much of "everything bad" in this show that is already wrong with kids today. I have no problems with the level of "violence or fear-factor" in this show, it's everything else that is overly disturbing.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
39 people found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (477):
Kids say (2404):

Dark, creepy, and sublimely intriguing, this 1980s throwback will remind you of many a vintage-era sci-fi/horror movie, in the most pleasant way imaginable. The cast is clad in dated '80s wear, walls are (fake) wood-paneled, phones are firmly attached to cords, and kids are free to race around on their bicycles, looking for clues. And there are lots of clues to look for, as it quickly becomes clear that all is not as it seems in the small-town setting.

In the first season, violence and gore are relatively low, while atmosphere and spookiness are high -- that changes as the series progresses, with some pretty gruesome deaths in the spotlight. But with characters of both kid- and parent-age to relate to, fear fans of all ages will have someone to root for. Tweens and teens will be interested in the mystery and compelled by the finely drawn characters, while adults can also enjoy the vintage clothing, technology, and prices. It's likely that everyone will be charmed by the spunkiness of the young heroes, who are ready, willing, and able to save the day when the adults in their lives are stymied.

TV Details

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