I Am Frankie
By Emily Ashby,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Family, friendship, individuality emerge in likable sitcom.
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I Am Frankie
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Based on 2 parent reviews
A really great show
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It’s cool to be smart
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What's the Story?
I AM FRANKIE centers on Frankie Gaines (Alex Hook), an all-around normal American teenager ... except for the fact that she's actually an android! After several unsuccessful attempts at creating a robot that could pass for a human, inventor Sigourney Gaines (Carrie Schroeder) perfected Frankie, and then took her home to keep her out of the grasp of her boss, Mr. Kingston (James D. Ballard), who planned to sell Frankie to a secret military group. Sigourney and her husband, Will (Michael Laurino), moved away to protect Frankie and give her as close to a normal life as possible, sending her to high school and exposing her to all the ups and downs of teen life. With only her younger sister, Jenny (Sophia Forest), and her best friend, Dayton (Nicole Alyse Nelson), privy to her real identity, Frankie learns to relate to her peers and cope with rivals like Tammy (Mohana Krishnan), even as more pressing dangers loom around her.
Is It Any Good?
Though she's not even human, Frankie's experiences with peers -- and the resulting emotions she discovers -- will ring true with young viewers. She quickly learns that not everyone has her best interests at heart, but that having friends and family in your corner can make all the difference in how you cope with adversity. Her reactions to common situations are comical because she's so literal and analytical, as when her mom tells her to stay away from a certain classmate and she turns and leaves whenever he comes near. As such, there's a lot of humor in this fun series.
What's notably missing in I Am Frankie is any concerning content for families, a thoroughly pleasant surprise in a show that has some multigenerational appeal. There's a strong family, a friendship marked by loyalty and trust, and in Frankie, a teen who seems impervious to issues like body image and popularity. Even the show's "villains" are silly and blundering enough that their schemes rarely threaten in any real sense, but they stick around to give the plot a useful third dimension.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Frankie's experiences in school and with friends compare to those of her classmates. Is she at an advantage because her emotions are limited? Is she more or less affected because she's different? Is there ever one right way to respond to a difficult situation?
How do you think cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence will change how we live in the future? Is it plausible to imagine a scenario like I Am Frankie as technological breakthroughs continue to happen? Is there any drawback to technology's increased presence in our lives?
In what cases do you see positive human attributes in Frankie? Would you respond differently to a similar challenge in her shoes? What other characters stand out as good role models and why?
TV Details
- Premiere date: September 11, 2017
- Cast: Alex Hook, Sophia Forest, Nicole Alyse Nelson
- Network: Nickelodeon
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Friendship, High School, Robots
- TV rating: TV-G
- Last updated: October 13, 2022
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