Parents' Guide to

Devs

By Martin Brown, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Slow sci-fi puzzle box requires investment, has violence.

TV Hulu Science Fiction 2020
Devs Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Aaron C.
Aaron C. Parent
May 15, 2020
age 16+

Complicated Sci-Fi Thriller has Brilliant visuals & sound.

Devs is a One-of-a-kind Sci-Fi Thriller with Slick visuals & Brilliant set pieces. It also has great background score. It's quite slow in narration, but it keeps one engaged.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
liz c
liz c Adult
April 19, 2020
age 18+

Commonsensemedia failed to mention sex scene!

episode 3, the computer shows a pixalated sex scene.

This title has:

Too much sex
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno) and her boyfriend, Sergei, are computer engineers at a company called Amaya. Sergei gets promoted to the mysterious "DEVS" unit, but disappears after his first day with his new team. Lily, suspicious that Amaya's CEO, Forest (Nick Offerman), has something to do with his disappearance, begins to investigate him and the company.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (2):

This intriguing but sometimes plodding sci-fi series requires a bit of patience but can be rewarding. This is mostly hanks to creator Alex Garland's (Ex-Machina, Annihilation) ability to make a very complicated concept (quantum physics) more accessible. That said, not everything about the show is fresh. It's got many of the hallmarks of other modern sci-fi shows (cough, Westworld): textbook cinematography that looks nice but ultimately adds little to the story, and a super-slow pace that often comes from trying to stretch what could be a 90-minute premise across eight episodes. Both traits are great for the streaming business -- especially if viewers are pre-invested in the creators or the subjects -- but the storytelling doesn't often hold up under them. Devs' surfaces (and there are a lot of them) look shiny enough, and the future-tech world and ethical discussions hint at a distant payoff, but without a true investment in Garland or the relatively thin plot, it takes a lot of patience to make it there.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the technology shown on Devs. Does Amaya remind you of any real-life tech companies? Do you think Devs' level of technology is realistic? Is it moral?

  • Offerman's character Forest is grieving the death of his daughter. Does his sadness warrant the choices he makes? Why or why not?

  • What do you think about the diversity of the main cast on this series? Have you ever seen someone that looks like Lily as the lead in a TV show?

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.

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