Parents' Guide to

Grantchester

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Blood, booze, mild menace in mystery period piece.

TV PBS Drama 2015
Grantchester Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 17+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Helen M.
Helen M. Adult
October 26, 2017
age 16+

Good with Inappropriate Moments/Themes

Really enticing story, if sometimes predictable. Parents should be aware that some episodes contain sex scenes that go further than the Common Sense Media rating of 2/5. Things are BEYOND implied, with *ahem* loud noises and camera angles that leave little to the imagination. These situations include both heterosexual and homosexual relationships, with homophobia and the struggles surrounding gay life during the time period being a relatively constant theme. One such episode involves the use of a public bathroom for men to liaison with each other; the acts in the bathroom are heavily implied. Parents should also be aware that many Christian church leaders are involved in a variety of "non-Christian" practices like fornication, and in particular drinking and smoking abundantly, with many allusions to alcoholism and the dependency on liquor to remove painful memories. A church leader is a closeted homosexual. Very little [if any] concrete references to God.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
MJeane
MJeane Adult
October 5, 2022
age 18+

Excellent in most parts (a good curate's egg)

This series is excellent in so many ways - it's just spoiled (at least for me) by the script and a couple of extra things. The script is bedevilled by frequent anachronistic expressions - things which would simply have not been said, and/or in the way they are said in the series, in the 1950s. This really jars and spoils the otherwise excellent acting and direction, etc. There is also an avoidance of expression and terminology which would have been common at the time - all in the name of political correctness one suspects... Otherwise, the production values are exceptional (even the green colour of the various paints is right, which is particularly rare!). The only other thing which annoys is the cutting of actors' hair; some haircutting techniques - and cutting and scissoring is quite an art - were not developed/created at that time and so it is quite wrong that the characters' hairstyles (and this is particularly notable with child and younger actors here) are cut in an anachronistic fashion. Otherwise, this is an excellent series and one for the library and for the future (where you're going to have to run your players with your generator...).
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What's the Story?

Set in the bucolic English village of GRANTCHESTER, this detective drama focuses on two good men: Anglican vicar Sidney Chambers (James Norton) and Detective Geordie Keating (Robson Green), who stumble upon a series of murders that reveal the dark underbelly of Grantchester. Together, the hard-driving, cynical Geordie and the emotional, gentle Chambers fall into being partners, despite the differences in their methods and personalities. Together, they work to uncover the nefarious chain of events that led to each murder. This series is based on The Grantchester Mysteries book series written by James Runcie.

Is It Any Good?

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

This series' slightly odd tone will be familiar to any viewer who's caught a Miss Marple mystery or an episode of Poirot. It seesaws between idyllic village life (picture fishmongers, winding lanes, fields of wheat) and rather purple plot twists. But by setting Grantchester in the 1950s, a pleasant Mad Men-ish air is added to the proceedings, with vintage hats and cigarettes abounding. Though dead bodies are shown at length, and there are scary sequences such as one in which one woman almost pushes another into the path of a train, the menace level never rises about "mild," and Chambers is a stalwart, reliable, and, by the way, quite handsome character on which viewers can rely. Thus this mystery series is mild enough for young teens to watch, with parents or without.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the setting for Grantchester. How would this story change if it were set in London? Seoul, Korea? Baltimore, Maryland?

  • Each week, the characters on Grantchester solve a different murder. Can you name any other kinds of shows with this kind of "case of the week" structure? Why do you think people enjoy this style of show?

TV Details

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