Parents' Guide to

Dead to Me

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Quirky dark comedy about death grabs hold and won't let go.

TV Netflix Drama 2019
Dead to Me Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 17 parent reviews

age 17+

Characters with no integrity

Main characters do not act with integrity, commit crimes, have casual sex, and use profanity with their children. ( Obviously that is not unlike most shows today, but according to the other reviews, as a culture we are just fine with that. But in case you arent in that category, fyi). Worse though, women are portrayed as victims with a very much a “all men are pigs” mentality, with no focus on the responsibility of the women in the relationships. They are not good role models for women. And for the icing on the cake, the lead character is anti-christian. We are all accustomed to indifference to spirtuality, but why the character has to be anti christian I do not know. Seems unnecessarily negative. Beyond that the show is predictable and not well written.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
2 people found this helpful.
age 17+

AMAZING

It is only for 17 and up ages. There are at least 27 F words used in each 30 minute episode!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much sexual situations. A girls sends a text saying I miss your cock. A woman sleeps with a man then he goes under the sheets (You know it's cunnilingus) Adualts drink and smoke weed often!

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (17 ):
Kids say (19 ):

Singular and utterly captivating, this series will have viewers addicted both to the chemistry between leads Applegate and Cardellini and to the tingly suspense under the surface. Because Judy has a secret, and it's one that Jen comes ever closer to discovering even as the two bond over their shared misery. Applegate and Cardellini are so good together that it's almost heartbreaking to watch them become better friends, knowing what the audience learns at the beginning of the first episode. Both insomniacs, they get to know each other at first over late-night phone calls, then marathon, wine-powered viewing parties of The Facts of Life (Judy thinks Jen's a Blair, even though Jen thinks of herself as a Jo). And then Jen impulsively extends Judy an invitation to come live with her and her kids. By the time Jen starts putting together the puzzle pieces of Judy's fractured life, she's already in so deep that it's hard to just walk away.

But there's more to Dead to Me than just a twisty mystery -- it's also a look at a woman flattened by a very particular kind of grief, slowly learning to navigate her life without her husband. Her grief at first takes the form of withering rants directed against those around her and rage sessions in her car listening to German black metal. But with steely conviction and compulsive honesty, she puts herself back together, despite the ticking timebomb of her relationship with Judy. It's an odd mix of genres and plotlines to be sure. And it's so well-done and surprising that you'd better clear your schedule for it.

TV Details

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