Parents' Guide to

Complications

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Gritty, complex drama has intense violence and menace.

TV USA Drama 2015
Complications Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

When ER doctor John Ellison (Jason O'Mara) accidentally stumbles upon the scene of a gang shooting and saves the life of a child who turns out to belong to a highly placed gang member, his actions bring on COMPLICATIONS he hadn't anticipated. For one thing, in the process of saving the child, he shoots and kills one of his attackers. Having lost his 8-year-old daughter last year, he and his wife Samantha (Beth Riesgraf) are barely hanging on as it is. Disillusioned with his work, feuding with colleagues, and miserable at home, Ellison is a powder keg, and the street gang he just got mixed up in might have a match.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

USA is clearly going after Breaking Bad territory: Regular dad goes rogue when caught in the fell clutch of circumstances. And it actually does a creditable job within the genre. Jason O'Mara has beady-eyed intensity, and there are some handy writers at work here. The plot ticks along nicely, with lots of medical messes keeping things lively between plot points concerned with the big bad gang guys.

But there's an archaic quality to the proceedings that makes Complications not quite top-drawer. We've seen the medical scenes before; we know their beats intimately. Similarly, any police scenes have a clichéd air: A detective investigating Ellison's role in the a gang battle tells him he's free to leave the station -- but just as he gets to the door, he says, "Just one more thing." Sigh. If you're going to write a dark drama, you can do better than sub-Law & Order dialogue.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Why are hospitals such a frequent setting for dramas? What dramatic possibilities do they offer that, for instance, a restaurant or an office might not?

  • Is the audience supposed to like Dr. John Ellison? How can you tell? What clues does the show give you through dialogue, costumes, and setting?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended tv lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate