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Parents' Guide to

Jinn

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Soapy supernatural drama has scares, some teen bullying.

TV Netflix Drama 2019
Jinn 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?

After a school trip to the ancient ruins of Petra goes tragically awry, the students at Seven Hills Academy start suffering a strange series of calamities that make some wonder if a vengeful JINN has escaped its supernatural bonds. Meanwhile, the magical happenings worsen the rifts already in place amongst the cliques at school. Popular Mira (Salma Malhas) hears strange whispery voices and starts seeing odd things, causing conflict with her boyfriend Nasser (Mohammad Nizar) and BFF Layla (Ban Halaweh). Meanwhile, quiet, bullied Yassin (Sultan Alkhai) is victimized by cruel Tarek (Abdelrazzaq Jarkas), and receives unexpected comfort from Vera (Aysha Shahaltough). And Layla's nerdy cousin Hassan (Zaid Zoubi) sees the signs of the jinn at work, though no one will believe his warnings.

Is It Any Good?

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

Cool mythology makes this soapy import feel a like a Arabic-language Riverdale, but the turned-up-a-notch cruelty and regressive thinking around gender may make some parents think twice. Bullies are common in teen dramas -- how else are you going to show the audience who's the lovable underdog they should root for? But it's hard to imagine a bully so malicious that he pees on his rival after he's fallen into a pit, as the brutish Tarek does to lanky, sensitive Yassin in Jinn's first episode. Of course, viewers are aware that select members of the cast will be victims of the jinn, so it makes sense that they're set up as deserving a comeuppance.

The audience might additionally get nervous hearing members of the cast voice old-school ideas about masculinity. When one character tells his vicious stepfather not to talk disrespectfully to his mother, the stepdad invades his space, daring him to fight -- is he a man or isn't he? Another character gossips to his friends about how he's going to have sex with his girlfriend -- tomorrow they'll be asking him for "lessons on how to be a man." That same character is sulky when the girlfriend asks him to "slow down" as they make out, demanding "Why?" The answer -- because she said so -- is perfect, and the female character who gives it also gives a positive representation of a girl who refuses to be a puppet for the controlling males around her. Her arc reads a lot better than some of her male classmate's, so if parents allow teens to watch they may want to point out which characters have power and agency so that the iffy gender politics don't fly under the cover of the supernatural mystery elements of the story.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about dysfunctional relationships and why writers so often turn to them for good material, both for drama and comedy. What is it about the relationships in Jinn that's compelling? Do you find the supernatural aspects of the show, or the interpersonal drama more compelling?

  • Families can also talk about the differences between shows produced for U.S. audiences vs. those produced for audiences from other countries. Why would a show that worked very well for U.S. audiences not appeal to audiences from other countries (and vice versa)? Is language a barrier? Does dubbing and subtitling change that?

  • What makes a supernatural series like Jinn appealing? Is it the sense of foreboding or confusion it creates? The world it has built? The mythology? Do you think the violent imagery is necessary? Why or why not?

  • Why is it important that the members of Jinn's cast are young? How would this story change if they were older characters? What's interesting or special about youth, and why is it so often the center of drama? What types of stories make sense for young characters and not older ones?

TV Details

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