Jeff & Some Aliens
Common Sense says
- Comedy Central
- Comedy
- 2017
Parents say
Kids say
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Jeff & Some Aliens is an absurd cartoon about a man living with three extraterrestrial roommates. Beware of a surprising level of violence: Characters are bludgeoned, suffocated, stabbed, and pulled to pieces, with blood and gore; in one subplot, a man commits murders for (he thinks) a greater good, and the bodies are shown at length. A character's father is suddenly killed, and he cradles the dad in his lap and screams, "Faaaaaather!," dramatically. It's all played for laughs, but it's more than young viewers should see. Sexual content includes cartoon nudity, with genitals blurred; expect vulgar words for sex acts and body parts, as well as other language including "s--t," "hell," and "goddamn." Also, characters tell each other to "shut up" and perform pranks such as holding frozen bags of fruit to their testicles.
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What's the story?
The setup for JEFF & SOME ALIENS is right in the show's theme song: "Three aliens came from the sky/The Galactic Council sent them and here’s the reason why/Their mission is to study Earth's most average guy/To see if humans are worth saving or if everyone has to die." Jeff (Brett Gelman) and his alien roommates Sammy, Jimmy, and Ted (all voiced by Alessandro Minoli) may have some pretty unique problems -- one episode revolves around a murder Jeff must commit to avenge the accidental death of an alien dignitary -- but with a little tolerance and a few bizarre plot twists, they'll all live to see another day.
Is it any good?
This pleasantly absurd animated series doesn't rise to the comic heights of an Archer or a Bob's Burgers, but its skewering of sitcom clichés is pretty fun. Half-hour comedies have, of course, made plenty of comedic hay from the sorts of misunderstandings that can arise when people live together in a small space; Jeff & Some Aliens' hassles are just a little more bizarre, with the title character participating in intense intergalatic decathalons and reluctantly committing Azurian honor killings to restore interstellar balance instead of, say, arguing about whose turn it is to do the dishes.
There are more wry chuckles than thigh-slappers, but there are some fun gags that teens will get a kick out of.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about the kinds of stories animation makes possible. What can be shown via animation that can't be shown (easily) in live-action comedies? What dramatic or comedic possibilities does the animated genre have?
Families can also talk about who this show is designed to appeal to. Do you think the fact that it's animated gives it more "kid appeal" than a live-action version? Do you think people often assume that anything animated is OK for younger viewers?
How would Jeff change if his roommates were witches? Criminals? New immigrants to America? What other "fish out of water" comedies can you name, and how are they like or different from this show?
TV details
- Premiere date: January 11, 2017
- Cast: Brett Gelman, Alessandro Minoli, Alicia Silverstone
- Network: Comedy Central
- Genre: Comedy
- TV rating: TV-14
- Available on: Streaming
- Last updated: September 20, 2019
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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.
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