Chad
Chad
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Chad is a sitcom about an incoming freshman teen boy, Chad (played by Nasim Pedrad, who is 39 years old, and female), who undergoes minor humiliations galore in his pursuit of popularity and happiness. Chad's family is Persian and Muslim, facts that Chad mostly tries to hide (he legally changed his first name from Fereydoon to Chad), but he also has grudging respect for both his heritage and religion, and the fact that his family is comfortable with their background. He also struggles to appear to be a "typical" American teen, though he often gets "typical" wrong. Iffy content is mainly in the form of jokes, like when Chad pretends he lost his virginity over the summer and a classmate says his partner "wanted that D." In another scene, a girl offers to have sex with him and Chad passes out and runs home, terrified. Teens drink (like in a scene in which an intimidating character drinks absinthe) and vape (the same character offers Chad something in a vape pen though we don't know what's in it). They also use marijuana edibles. In one scene, Chad unknowingly gulps down a bunch of enhanced gummy worms; he spits them out when he finds out what's in them. Cursing includes "damn," "ass," "dick," "hell," "dipshit." The show can get a bit raunchy at times, but the overall tone is sweet, lovable, and absurd.
Community Reviews
Obnoxious & whiny
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BAD COMEDY
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What's the Story?
In middle school, he was a great big dork who never talked to girls and only went to one party over the summer (and it was a brunch thrown by his best friend's aunt), but CHAD (Nasim Pedrad, a 39-year-old woman playing a 14-year-old boy) is starting high school this year, and things are going to be different. He's successfully concealed his Persian heritage by legally changing his name from Fereydoon Amani to Chad, and he's ready with a series of smooth lies about who he is and what he's been up to. His best friend Peter (Jake Ryan) doesn't understand the stress; his supportive mother (Saba Homayoon), clever younger sister (Ella Mika), and kind-hearted uncle (Paul Chahidi) think Chad should just accept who he is. But as a teen in search of popularity and, naturally, the enduring happiness that will follow, that's just not something Chad's willing to do.
Is It Any Good?
Zippy writing, lovable characters, and a keen sense of absurdity distinguish this sitcom from a bumper crop of other "high school is sooooo awkward!" comedies which all blend together. And like sitcoms with similar settings, Chad does share some tropes. The high school where most of the action happens is inhabited by polarized cool kids and very-much-not-cool kids; Chad himself is an awkward freshman trying to pass himself off as a smooth upperclassman; there are unrealistically huge parties, unrealistically old classmates, and so on. Even the idea of an adult playing a goofy adolescent isn't new; PEN15, please report to the principal's office.
So it's not fresh, but Chad is fun enough that it charms anyway, mostly because of the loopy gags that play out unacknowledged by the cast. When Chad agrees to meet a scary goth girl behind the school, he walks nervously past trash can fires and discarded couches. Why's the goth girl so scary? Chad tells his mom that she doesn't come to class with a backpack, just a broken pencil and ripped piece of paper. Chad's best friend Peter wears a pair of leather shorts to school. They're his mom's, he explains; his dad's clothes are too small for him. "Stop wearing your parents' clothes!" Chad rants at him. "You're your own boy, Peter." Chad is a gruff, unpleasant teenage boy (trapped in the body of a generation-older woman in funny fake eyebrows), but with relatable people surrounding him like Peter, Chad's understanding mom, and gentle Uncle Hamid, it's easy to care about what happens to him, and everyone on this eccentric semi-gem of a comedy.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why high schools are such a common setting for shows about teenagers. What's the dramatic or comedic potential for a high school? How many high school shows can you name? What does Chad have in common with those, and how does it differ?
What do you think about the fact that the series stars and is written by an adult woman pretending to be a teen boy? How might the show have been different if they hired a real 14-year-old to play Chad? Does his true age affect how you view the character in any way?
Some of the humor in Chad is rather mature for the age characters are playing on the show (early teens). Would the show be as funny without jokes about sex, drugs, and other ticklish topics? Does the humor make you uncomfortable, or do you ever think it's inappropriate?
TV Details
- Premiere date: April 6, 2021
- Cast: Nasim Pedrad, Jake Ryan, Ella Mika
- Network: TBS
- Genre: Comedy
- TV rating: TV-MA
- Last updated: December 2, 2022
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