Parents' Guide to

Bored to Death

By Will Wade, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Lots of drinking and drug use in quirky cable comedy.

TV HBO Comedy 2009
Bored to Death Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 13+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Another Dad
Another Dad Parent of 3 and 8-year-old
January 22, 2018
age 16+

Pilot is appalling

This show's pilot is about three male characters who have horrible views of women. It's not just that they say sexist things and display sexist attitudes (though they do) it's things like this: the main character discovers that a man is holding a woman, bound and gagged, against her will. He proceeds to befriend the man. Then the woman is portrayed as unsympathetic for being angry at him. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I'm never going to watch another episode of this show, but I feel it's unfair to give a single-star rating after only one episode, so it get two stars.
hamstergurl09
hamstergurl09 Adult
August 11, 2012
age 12+

Great

As far as TV shows go, this is top-notch. It's very original and creative, really quirky, and to top it all off, hilarious. The ways that Jonathan solves cases are unexpectedly remarkable. The characters are all very unique (I like George best-he's Jonathan's boss and one of Jonathan's closest friends despite their age difference). I highly recommend this show for teens and adults with a sophisticated or quirky sense of humor.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman) is stuck. He can't write his second novel, he can't cut back on his drinking habit (white wine, preferably), and he's in a serious funk because his girlfriend just moved out. Looking for a way to curb his ennui and jump-start his creativity, he starts advertising himself as a private detective (an "unlicensed" one, just to make sure everything is above board). For moral support, he turns to his narcissistic best friends, Ray (Zach Galifianakis), a comic book artist who constantly whines about his sex life, and George (Ted Danson), a dashing magazine editor who really, really likes to smoke pot.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (3 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

The joke in BORED TO DEATH is that Jonathan is hardly what you'd expect in a private eye -- short, nebbishy, and physically unimposing, he's easy to overlook and hard to take seriously. The cases he lands in this offbeat comedy are standard fare -- a missing sister, a possibly cheating boyfriend -- but its Schwartzman's efforts to insert himself into one weird situation after another that make it work. It's not so much that his investigations lead him to strange places; it's his attempts to be not so dorky that are priceless. He's read plenty of Raymond Chandler, so he knows the moves, but that doesn't mean that he can pull them off (just watch him try to bribe a bartender while choking on a whiskey, for example).

Danson and Galifianakis are ideal companions for a show about people trying to reinvent themselves -- though perhaps not the best of friends. Both are completely self-obsessed and seem oblivious to Jonathan's new identity. Danson's George is particularly entertaining in his single-minded devotion to getting high and meeting women, probably in that order. But this show is all Schwartzman, and his meek wannabe detective is a worthy addition to the pantheon of TV gumshoes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about addiction. Do you think Jonathan is an alcoholic? How does he justify his need to drink? Does he seem like a "typical" alcoholic? Is there such a thing? Does George seem like a drug addict?

  • How does this show compare to other pay-cable comedies? What makes these series different from network sitcoms?

  • What does a real P.I. actually do? Movies have made it seem like a glamorous, exciting profession, but this show paints a different picture. Which do you think is closer to reality?

TV Details

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