Common Sense Media Review
By Stephanie Morgan
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Bad reality TV drama masquerades as couples therapy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Blue Therapy
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
BLUE THERAPY is a British reality series that centers on couples therapy sessions of predominantly Black couples, conducted by a White therapist, Karen Doherty, within a highly produced TV environment. The show defines its title, Blue Therapy, as a place where calm meets conflict and suggests that healing isn't always peaceful.
Is It Any Good?
Fans of the docuseries Couples Therapy who are coming to this new show hoping for a similar fly-on-the-wall experience are going to be sorely disappointed by its reality TV tone. Instead of an intimate therapist's office, Blue Therapy sessions take place in a mansion that rivals that of The Bachelor, complete with couples arriving in chauffeured cars. Beyond the over-the-top dramatics, the series is most significantly hindered by an underlying White savior dynamic created by the casting of a White therapist for an almost entirely Black group of patients; notably, the therapist never addresses this racial dynamic with any of her patients. Ultimately, nothing about the show feels genuine, let alone productive or meaningful for the participants' long-term emotional growth, leaving very little for viewers to take away from the series.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Blue Therapy takes place in a giant mansion with chauffeured cars. Does this setting make the therapy feel more or less real to you? Talk about how reality TV producers use luxury sets to make a show feel more important. How are these high-end visuals meant to distract viewers from whether any real healing is actually happening?
One participant hides his job loss while continuing to spend money. Why is financial honesty just as important as emotional honesty in a partnership? Discuss how keeping secrets about money can break the trust a family needs to feel safe and supported.
Talk about how the therapist is White and nearly all the patients are Black, yet they never talk about it. How do you think someone's background or race affects how they understand another person's perspective? Why it is important for professionals to acknowledge differences in experience when trying to help people?
TV Details
- Premiere date : March 4, 2026
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : March 26, 2026
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