Parents' Guide to

Almost Royal

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Deadpan faux reality series is hysterical, slightly rude.

TV BBC America Comedy 2014
Almost Royal Poster Image

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

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What's the Story?

In the mock reality series ALMOST ROYAL, Poppy (Amy Hoggart) and Georgie (Ed Gamble) are aristocratic English siblings and distant relatives of the British royal family. Their father recently committed suicide, and the Carlton sibs are honoring his dying wishes by taking a tour of America. They want to get to know the real America, not the one they've seen on television, and so they poke their noses into historical reenactments, the sets of network soap operas, luxury car dealerships, and other illuminating locales, hoping to understand the United States and its people.

Is It Any Good?

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

Almost Royal is a rib-tickler, but it's the kind of British-y humor that not all viewers will appreciate. The jokes are silly and often quite rude (Georgie explains to a soap opera actress how he conceals his pesky erections in French class; the siblings speculate on whether their widowed mom would enjoy having Fabio give her "more action in her life"), but they're so mumbled, dry, and relatively sophisticated that some viewers won't find them at all funny. But, suffice it to say, if you're the type of viewer who appreciates the work of English comics such as Ricky Gervais or Steve Coogan, you're going to laugh at Almost Royal.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why the show is presented as being reality television when it's actually scripted. Is this part of the joke? Why is it funny?

  • Does Almost Royal remind you of other reality television series? How is Almost Royal like or unlike other shows such as Shahs of Sunset or The Simple Life?

  • What is the humorous aspect to importing people from another culture to investigate American culture? Can you think of other movies or TV shows that take this tack? Do you find it amusing? Realistic?

TV Details

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