Parents' Guide to

Crossing Lines

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Ho-hum police procedural with dead bodies and scary stuff.

TV NBC Drama 2013
Crossing Lines Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 18+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Petalknits
Petalknits Adult
December 4, 2018
age 18+

Almost porn

The first 2 seasons were pretty good, but by season 3, topless women became very frequent, as were lots of sex scenes that were very convincing. Lots of f-bombs as well. Why did the writers feel a need to include these kind of scenes? There was even basically an orgy with topless women everywhere. Also, the characters by season 3 were more shallow, less developed. What I enjoyed most about the first 2 seasons were how much the characters were connected in spite of their flaws and scarred background. Yuck, what happened??
mk S.
mk S. Adult
July 14, 2017
age 18+

how to ruin a good show

remove sutherland and fichtner
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In grim crime drama CROSSING LINES, former NYPD detective Carl Hickman (William Fitchner) is all done with police work, particularly since his right hand is so maimed he can no longer hold a pen or a gun. His brilliant investigative mind is still sharp, but he has no plans to use it on criminals. However, his old friend Detective Major Louis Daniel (Marc Lavoine) has other plans for him: Come to work at the International Criminal Court, investigating tough cases with criminals who cross European borders. First on the docket: A serial killer who preys on young women. Fitchner and a team of international investigators have to find him before he kills again, all the while negotiating tricky international politics.

Is It Any Good?

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

It's Law & Order: The Hague. Or at least that what this retread of other crime 'n' violence cop shows feels like. It's more creepy dudes whose faces appear only in shadow, stalking hot young women who scream piteously and then fall down in the mud and break their heel, allowing them to be stabbed to death. In the credits, you'll appear as "Victim #3." Thank you for your good work!

It's disappointing, because Crossing Lines did nab itself a good cast. Donald Sutherland, great to see you again! William Fitchner has a weird, great face; fun to watch him. But we've seen this show before. Too many times, in fact. The Bridge does international police work better. Go watch that instead.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether Crossing Lines is a realistic look at criminal work. Do real cops have jobs like this? Is this what real investigations look like?

  • Compare Crossing Lines with another police procedural, like Law & Order: SVU? How are the shows different? How are they the same?

  • Does it bother you that there are sexual connotations to the murders on Crossing Lines, i.e. only very beautiful women are killed, the viewer see them in states of undress, we see them from the point of view of the killer, etc.? Would you want your daughter to see these types of crimes depicted? What about your son?

TV Details

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