Parents' Guide to

Dude, What Would Happen

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Teens' wacky experiments are fun for curious tweens.

TV Cartoon Network Reality TV 2009
Dude, What Would Happen Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all
age 9+

Based on 13 parent reviews

bigchungues
bigchungues Parent of 2, 5, 8 and 10-year-old
April 10, 2022
age 4+

Heck no!

I’m a proud father to 4 girls. My oldest and first girl tried to break into our house with the DaBaby car after she said “let’s go”, My second girl was roller skating around the house with cheese underneath, my third girl used using her hands with laundry detergent as paint and put it into her shirt and my youngest and last girl was trying to cut her hair with razors and ate crazy fruity peddles that contained too much sugar. It was so bad that me and my wife blocked it for, our TV and there is no way we are letting our daughters watch this again.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Al Jackson
Al Jackson Adult
April 14, 2012
age 7+

Live action? This is CARTOON Network!

This show is just plain HORRIBLE! The voice acting and jokes are terrible! Also,why is this garbage on Cartoon Network? It's a network for CARTOONS! Stuart Snyder needs a wake up!
See all 13 parent reviews

What's the Story?

What do you get when you give three teens carte blanche to discover the answers to their wildest questions? Answer: The high-energy adventure of DUDE, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN, which stars friends CJ Manigo, Ali Sepasyar, and Jackson Rogow as the curious minds behind some of the zaniest experiments around. Whether it's testing the lift capacity of hundreds of helium balloons or designing the world's first mobile hot tub, there's no distance these guys won't go to satisfy their own curiosity.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (13):
Kids say (40):

Although there's little intrinsic educational quality to this mostly fluffy series, it is a fun option for tweens who are curious about how things work. The guys' off-the-wall ideas are sure to get viewers' own minds turning over questions they might have, and with a little parental assistance, some of those ideas could present some fun learning opportunities.

As far as content goes, there's nothing inappropriate for tweens, but younger kids might be misled by the guys' apparent lack of supervision and unlimited access to supplies and tools. Do be sure to remind viewers of all ages that although they may not see it, the teens are under adult supervision and that their experiments do carry some risk of danger (so kids shouldn't try their own tests at home!).

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about science. How do we use science in our everyday lives? What scientific questions do you have that you'd like to test? How would you go about it?

  • What steps do you take to make sure you're safe at school, at home, and when you're in public? What rules does your family have about TV and Internet use to ensure that you're safe?

  • How does the media keep us informed about events around us? How do you get your news? Do you think the media has a responsibility to provide quality content to families and kids?

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.

See all recommended tv lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate