Parents' Guide to

Backpackers

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Buddy comedy paints sexy picture of young adulthood.

TV CW Comedy 2014
Backpackers Poster Image

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BACKPACKERS is an intermittently funny buddy comedy that likens thumbing your way through Europe to a crazy Las Vegas-style party scene. With the inexhaustible supply of alcohol and willing female counterparts -- plus a crazy Aussie traveler, a fortuitous case of mistaken identity, and a few brushes with danger -- there's no shortage of things to do and see in these guys' version of adventure. Thanks to Brandon's prodding, Ryan gets to experience it all. Of course, that means so do teen viewers, and they'll take away a greatly sanitized and sexy impression of this type of rite of passage.

There are some hopeful glimmers in how the experience furthers Ryan's devotion to Beth and, at times, Brandon's willingness to indulge his friend's efforts to reunite with her, but most of the show sets out to glorify life without consequences. Because it's careful about obscuring nudity and limiting sexual content to suggestions and sounds, the show is passable for older teens, and it raises some issues about responsibility, healthy relationships, and life direction you can discuss with your kids.

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