Parents' Guide to

Legacies

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Vampire spin-off has new characters, violence, sexiness.

TV CW Drama 2018
Legacies Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 10 parent reviews

Mary C.
Mary C. Adult
September 4, 2023
age 13+

DON'T WASTE TIME WITH THIS SHOW

we have never met and you have never spoken to us before, but PLEASE do not watch this show. this show is a complete debauchery of all mythology and legends in general. it has dragons in the most ridiculous and cringe way you can possibly imagine x 50, not to mention the unicorn episode, which is just terrible writing. in all four seasons, there is one good moment. the girls get together and they get extremely high and make a panda promise. it sounds cringe, but it actually seems good because the entirety of the show is a cash-grab and a disgusting exposure of what it's like to be uncreative and somehow still become famous enough to write a show. let's not forget about the fact that the writers probably didn't watch any of the other TVDU shows. this show is an insult to the entire tumblr 2014 population. the dialogue is atrocious - it's wattpad level bad (and we aren't even talking about the ones that have "im sorry english isn't my first language") -, the characters seem underthought and underdeveloped most of the time, and if they happen to stumble over some character development it feels really weird and displaced, or the writers just forget about it. plus, Hope has the strongest plot armour in the fantasy world and still manages to get her bumbum kicked every 5 seconds. we have to tip our fedoras to the writers for evil/humanity off hope because, sometimes, she was actually interesting. unfortunately, this good time didn't last that long; it's like three episodes long and then it just..... doesn't matter? the few (two) characters who can be considered kinda good, have some of the most pointless endings, it makes no sense how a character that endured like that to have such a meaningless end. worse than this fact, was that one of the two good characters simply had no backstory. that's right! absolutely nothing. except he's a random man from atlanta . . . .. we guess? we would like to say that this show was a waste of our time, and apparently also the crew's. no one fact-checked this piece of crap, no one even rewatched this before it was uploaded to the community. this is awful, it's so bad there are no words to properly explain it, and they just forget that characters EXIST all the time. if there is one thing, not good, but funny about this show is santa claus kicking krampus' ass, santa got moves. he's there for one episode and he's more likable and interesting than hope. HOPE IS SO F*CKING BORING. if you guys watched the originals you know they started hope pretty damn well, that's how you can really tell the writers didn't watch the previous shows, the massacre they did to her character/personality was worse than what ripper stefan did. she's kind of like bella, but without all the nostalgia and iconicness of it all. it's excruciating to hear her talk, to know she will eventually show up on screen again, and that ultimately, this show is all about her. you can never escape her.... she will never go away..... she keeps coming back again...please send help. the worst character of them all, yes, even worse than hope is her love interest. this man has NOTHING to add. even when he DOES have something, he doesn't.... his finale made no sense and even with all the power he gained, he was still USELESS. there is one good-looking man in this show, and it is NOT LANDON. NOT BY FAR. LANDON DOESN'T EVEN HIT TOP 5. it's a secondary love interest that has nothing to do with the main character, and he is.... HOT. he looks good, he is interesting, he is powerful and, of course, he goes away in season 2, because the writers clearly didn't want this show to be good/popular. let's be honest: the only reason anyone is here giving it five stars is because they liked the two previous shows and also they are legally blind. no sane human being with the littlest interest in this universe would ever even RATE this piece of garbage, and we are not even 100% sane, so if we got to this conclusion so can y'all, THIS SHOW IS NOT WORTH IT. ... but he is pretty hot.
IndianaJustin
IndianaJustin Adult
November 15, 2021
age 17+

Sex drugs and alcohol at “school”

Film portrays teenagers having sex, and using drugs and alcohol.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 10 parent reviews

What's the Story?

LEGACIES, an installment of The Vampire Diaries franchise, features a new generation of supernatural students at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted. Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell), the daughter of the infamous vampire-werewolf Klaus Mikaelson, attends the school in Mystic Falls along with folks like teacher and hunter Alaric Saltzman's (Matthew Davis) daughters, fraternal twin witches Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) and Josie (Kaylee Bryant), and a vampire known as MG (Quincy Fouse). Also joining them are newcomers Rafael Waithe (Peyton Alex Smith) and Landon Kirby (Aria Shahghasemi). As the teens learn ancient magic and folklore, they also deal with typical coming-of-age pressures, especially when it comes to falling in love. Their emotions run deep, but they work to suppress their natural instincts to bite, attack, or perform black magic while keeping who they are a secret in order to stay safe. But there comes a time where they each must choose who they want to be, and how they'll contribute to the world around them.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (10 ):
Kids say (35 ):

This dramatic supernatural spin-off features all the edgy drama and teen-oriented angst L.J. Smith's original story world is known for. Like The Vampire Diaries and its sister series, The Originals, it focuses on the internal struggles of the characters, who are constantly negotiating between wanting to live happily as nonhuman creatures, and having to change their behavior in order to live among people who consider what they are to be terrifying and evil. Adding to this challenge, they maintain complicated friendships, betrayals, and romantic entanglements.

Some of the stories pick up threads from the earlier series, making the show feel like a natural progression of The Vampire Diaries universe (which will certainly please diehard franchise fans). But Legacies also offers a slew of new characters played by up-and-coming actors, and storylines for a new generation of viewers to sink their teeth into. It's not for everyone, but if you like the combination of magic, horror, and the agonies of high school, chances are that this will fit the bill.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the popularity of supernatural-themed shows and movies. What is it that makes them entertaining? Is it the ability to perform magic? The adventures that transpire?

  • Spin-offs like Legacies usually rely (to some extent) on their parent series' stories to attract audiences. But can a spin-off be completely different from the original show and still work?

  • Do supernatural or horror-themed shows have to show violence to be entertaining, suspenseful, or scary? Check out some of these options for some fun scary alternatives.

TV Details

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 suggesting a diversity update.

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