Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Family swap show focuses on common ground; has language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Home Sweet Home
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
From Ava DuVernay comes HOME SWEET HOME, a reality series that features families trading homes and experiencing different ways of life. Each episode focuses on two families of different backgrounds who don't know each other moving into each other's abodes for a few days. They take part in each other's daily routines, and interact with their families, friends, and neighbors. They also can participate in their hobbies and other activities. After four days, the families come together to share what they've learned, including those things they unexpectedly have in common.
Is It Any Good?
The mild series offers viewers an hour of watching families participate in a social experiment designed to see how people can find common ground despite their differences. As the families participate in pre-planned activities that offers more insight into each other's lives, they are excited to learn more about the people they've traded homes with. They also share what they are learning about themselves. These are positive things, but Home Sweet Home glosses over the uncomfortable but important conversations about unconscious bias, and it fails to fully address how this quietly surfaces in different ways during each experience. If you can get past this, you'll find a feel-good show that offers some hope for bridging the gap between people from different communities.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the different lessons the families learned while participating in the series. Were they surprised about what they had in common? What other things surprised them?
How does Home Sweet Home address people's different experiences because of race, ethnicity, religion, or family structure? How do participants respond to these differences?
TV Details
- Premiere date : October 15, 2021
- Network : NBC
- Genre : Reality TV
- Topics : Friendship
- Character Strengths : Communication , Curiosity
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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
Suggest an Update
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