Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Edgy, mature teen soap adaptation addresses social issues.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Class
What's the Story?
Adapted from the Spanish series Elite, CLASS is an Indian TV series featuring a group of students in a private high school in New Delhi. When Dheeraj Valmiki's (Piyush Khati) local school burns down, Ahuja Builders, the company that managed it, gives scholarships to the surviving students to attend other schools to avoid bad publicity. Dheeraj, along with classmates Saba Manzoor (Madhyama Segal) and Balli Sehrawat (Cwaayal Singh), is chosen to attend the prestigious Hampton International School. They want to make most of the opportunity, but are immediately ostracized for being from a lower caste. As they navigate this world of privilege, they're quickly at odds with classmates like popular social media butterfly Yashika Mehta (Ayehsa Kanga) and her boyfriend Veer Ahuja (Zeyn Shaw), whose father happens to be the head of Ahuja Builders. Others, like the principal's son, Dhruv Sanghvi (Chayan Chopra), and Veer's sister Shuhani (Anjali Sivaraman) are dealing with their personal struggles. There's nonstop drama, which eventually leads to some unexpected consequences.
Is It Any Good?
The soapy drama, which starts as a flashback, details lots of inappropriate and mature behavior as the young people of Hampton International School navigate their way toward adulthood. Much like the Spanish original, there's lots of sex, drugs, and unexpected turns, which makes it both steamy and suspenseful. But Class also offers lots of strong social commentary specific to Indian society, especially as it relates to the persistent ideological reinforcement of the country's abolished caste system, its extreme wealth disparity, and anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim behavior. These statements are not subtle, but it helps elevate some of the intersecting narratives to something more than just stories filled with guilty pleasures.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the Indian caste system. What are its origins? Why does cast segregation persist in the country despite the fact that it was abolished in 1952? Do you think the practice will ever fully disappear?
Do TV series like Elite and Class present a realistic view of teen life? Or does it feature lots of sex, cursing, and drugs for the sake of entertainment? Do they offer constructive ways of addressing important issues like teen bullying and and intolerance, despite the edgy content?
TV Details
- Premiere date : February 3, 2023
- Cast : Piyush Khati , Madhyama Segal , Cwaayal Singh
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- TV rating :
- Last updated : February 7, 2023
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