Parents' Guide to

High Maintenance

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Funny but mature show centers on drug-delivery service.

TV HBO Comedy 2016
High Maintenance Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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What's the Story?

Web-turned-television series HIGH MAINTENANCE was created by husband-and-wife team Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld, starring Sinclair as the Guy, a nameless marijuana-delivery man who bicycles around New York City delivering his product to the clients who summon him. On each short episode, Sinclair gets a call from a different client and drops into a different world populated with different characters: a man who has suddenly discovered his OKCupid date is a homeless woman using him for a place to stay; two women whose at-home dinner night is interrupted by a mouse that gets stuck in a glue trap; a corporate assistant whose boss is driving her crazy. The Guy comes and goes, his backpack of goodies at the ready, his bike always pointed toward the next client.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This series is good fun and an interesting look at a milieu most viewers may never glimpse, but the setting and drug use make this one not for kids. Sinclair is a bit of a blank slate as a protagonist -- most of the action in each episode revolves around the clients and their personal dramas. But he seems nice enough -- hardly the degenerate drug dealer viewers usually see on-screen and thus a good foil to lead us into short anthology-like vignettes.

The Guy's clients are variously annoying and sympathetic -- who wouldn't be surprised to hear that the brand-new girlfriend who's been spending so much time at your house actually has nowhere better to go? And given that each episode of High Maintenance is only a few minutes long, you don't have time to get bored with each new character's shenanigans before you're moving on to the next one.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • How old should a person be before watching High Maintenance? At what age is it OK for teens to watch movies or TV shows with drug use, such as Breaking Bad? If this show were about an alcohol-delivery service, would your answer change?

  • Each segment of this show begins with an interview with show creators Ben and Katja, where they discuss what the episode is about and how it's made. Why does the show do this? Is this typical of TV shows? Do you like knowing insider information about the show?

  • Why is each segment of the show so short? How would it change if its episodes were a half hour or an hour long?

TV Details

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