Parents' Guide to

Day Break

By Sierra Filucci, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

One bad day lasts forever. Too bloody for kids.

TV ABC, TV One Drama 2006
Day Break Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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What's the Story?

Taye Diggs stars as Detective Brett Hopper, a cop wrongly accused of murder, in the tense, action-packed thriller DAY BREAK. Set in Los Angeles and delivered in choppy bits and pieces of tight shots and color-saturated scenes, the series takes a page from the classic comedy Groundhog Day and turns it on its head. Each morning, Hopper wakes up in the same day, scrambling to find a way to exonerate himself and protect the people he loves. Along the way, Hopper finds out that the crime he's accused of -- murdering the assistant district attorney -- is connected to many people, making for a very tangled web to unwind.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1):

The show's complexity, along with the tense momentum, makes it hard to resist, despite its somewhat gimmicky nature. Though some events remain the same each time Hopper wakes up and does the day over, he finds that his choices can change the course of events. As one of his enemies says again and again, "For every decision, there is a consequence." If Hopper skips coffee, someone dies. If he protects one loved one, another gets hurt. As the day repeats, Hopper tries to gather enough information to get at the truth; along the way, he learns what he really cares about.

Both Diggs and Moon Bloodgood (who plays Hopper's girlfriend, Rita) are gorgeous, making the show easy to watch despite the gallons of blood shed throughout the course of each episode. But the pace is intense and the gunshots frequent, making Day Break stuff for mature teens and adults only.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the show's narrative structure. What's appealing about the repeating-day format? How does the concept help or hurt the story? How far do you think producers can take the idea -- how would it play out over several seasons? What would you do if you found yourself living the same day over and over again? What if the only way to make it stop repeating was to sacrifice a loved one? What do you think about the idea that "for every decision, there is a consequence"?

TV Details

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