Parents' Guide to

Derek

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Ricky Gervais redeems himself as a lovable simpleton.

TV Netflix Comedy 2013
Derek Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 16+

Based on 1 parent review

age 16+

OK for 13 year olds?

CSM clearly didn't watch the 2nd season of "Derek," which features very strong language in nearly all of its episodes, and extremely sexually explicit talk, mostly from the character Kev. The episodes that focus on Kev really lag, he's definitely more of a supporting role type of guy. I was also sad to see Karl Pilkington's exit on season 2, his voice of reason Dougy was one of my favorite parts of season 1. Gervais takes the cake of course, his Derek is an utterly adorable, innocent and naive man with a love of animals, Hannah (another great, motherly character) and all around kindness. You'll fall in love with Derek, but "Derek" is for older teens.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much swearing

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (3 ):

Derek is a kindly if bumbling character with great love for his coworkers, his two best friends, and the seniors who live where he works. "Old people are nicer to me than other people," says Derek, who doesn't mind clipping their toenails or holding their hands until they fall asleep. Genuine sweetness on television sitcoms is pretty rare, as are characters who treat each other with love and kindness even while they crack jokes about "sex pudding" or annoy each other with unfashionable hairdos.

The gentle sweetness of Derek is leavened with British silliness; viewers who enjoyed the original Office ​also will probably enjoy this (and its format is a similar mockumentary style). Certainly there's nothing like it on television, and it's all the more surprising coming from a crass, often biting guy like Gervais, best known in America for playing a jerky boss and ticking people off as a Golden Globes host. Parents who can handle the cursing and sex jokes probably will enjoy watching with their older kids; if said kids can understand the characters' mumbling, deadpan style, they'll probably enjoy watching it, too.

TV Details

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