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Parents' Guide to

Man vs. Bee

By Monique Jones, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Broad comedy is acquired taste; has cartoonish violence.

TV Netflix Comedy 2022
Man vs. Bee poster

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 2 parent reviews

AJsMom
AJsMom Parent of 7-year-old
January 22, 2023
age 12+

Grown man in underwear and dog collar

My daughter has put this on a few times and each time I walk in there is an inappropriate shot of the main character—a grown man in very short boxer briefs that show his genitals. In one scene he puts a dog collar on to be able to enter a doggy door again while in his short tight boxers. How this show is appropriate for children I have no idea. Do yourself a favor and block it.
Kld4413
Kld4413 Adult
January 30, 2023
age 8+

Entertaining

It's entertaining. Typical, silly, slapstick comedy. No cursing or sex. There is a scene where the man hastily throws on the first thing he can find and it's a woman's robe that says "sexy minx" on the back. There's another scene where he quickly grabs a fur coat to cover himself to answer the door and ends up looking like a cross dresser. I'm pretty sure that aspect went over my kids heads. The only scene that made me cringe was when the bee goes down his pants while he's talking to someone at the door and he's intensely trying to fight it off with his hand down his shorts. Again, the fact that he looked like a pervert went over my kids heads. Very typical Rowan Atkinson comedy.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

MAN VS. BEE follows a hapless man named Trevor (Rowan Atkinson) who is on his first assignment for his new job as a house-sitter. But an errant bee comes into the home, leading to Trevor to destroy the house with a single focus of killing it.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (5 ):

This series is definitely an acquired taste -- if you're a fan of Rowan Atkinson's brand of physical comedy, you'll love it, as it's full of his standard pratfalls and stunts. If you're not a fan, then you will find Man vs. Bee tedious, or even annoying.

The series' humor might be subjective, but it definitely had an opportunity to be more diverse. Of course, this type of show isn't centered around making big statements about society, but it could have been fun to see a light show like this one to embrace diversity to show its audience that people of color can be funny, lighthearted, and carefree.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Trevor's actions. Why did he get a job as a house-sitter? How does he make matters worse for himself?

  • Why is Trevor adamant about killing the bee?

  • What positive qualities does Trevor have? What qualities should Trevor work on?

  • How is violence portrayed in the series?

  • What is racial representation exhibited in the series?

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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