Parents' Guide to

APB

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Lighter police procedural has a cool technology angle.

TV Fox Drama 2017
APB Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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What's the Story?

What if a smart phone app turned an entire city into a neighborhood watch? In APB, that city is Chicago, and the man behind the app -- and the high-tech rejuvenation of the city's police force -- is Gideon Reeves (Justin Kirk). After the tragic loss of a loved one who was suddenly murdered, Elon Musk-esque tech billionaire Reeves makes a deal with the bankrupt city: The Chicago PD is now under his control, and he's ready, willing, and able to pour millions into new crime-fighting technology, such as a new app that allows every citizen to directly report crime to the police. But that's only the beginning. With his right-hand woman Detective Amelia Murphy (Natalie Martinez) leading a team of competent cops under the direction of Sargeant Ed Conrad (Ernie Hudson), Reeves hopes to help Chicago step into the future of law enforcement, when the crimes are big and the gadgets he invents to stop them are bigger.

Is It Any Good?

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

Gee-whiz gadgets and a generally light tone make this drama a better bet for family watching than many gory and/or exploitative police procedurals. Many of Reeves' inventions have a Batman-esque appeal: A motorcycle that drops a set of deterrent spikes to slow down criminals during high-speed chases is a typical example. And they're made to stop criminals, not to hurt or kill them, which also contributes to APB's cheery tone, since the bad guys are clapped into jail at the end of every episode instead of meeting a grisly end, as happens on many cop shows. There are no long, lingering shots of (usually female, often scantily clad) dead bodies here; a more typical scene has Reeves and his cohorts gathering to test out a new whirligig and give each other high-fives.

Yet APB isn't total fluff. The law enforcement storylines are given a bit of emotional weight with peeks into the officers' private lives: Reeves is married to his work; Murphy has a fellow police officer ex and a complicated young son. The crimes the APB officers solve can be dark, too. But that's where Gideon Reeves comes in, and everything's put back to rights when the credits roll, the victims recovered, the miscreants jailed.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how TV procedurals such as APB feature disturbing and violent crimes. Do shows like this one sensationalize violence? Make it appealing?

  • Is APB's use of technology realistic? Are the weapons, surveillance, and deterrent devices things that actually exist? Pick an example and explain why such an invention would or wouldn't be a good idea.

  • How realistic are the characters and scenarios on this show? How does the show differ from other crime shows?

TV Details

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