Parents' Guide to

Marseille

By Kari Croop, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Steamy sex, drugs, and corruption -- with subtitles.

TV Netflix Drama 2016
Marseille 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 20 years at the helm of his sprawling seaside city, longtime mayor of MARSEILLE Robert Taro (Gerard Depardieu) watches his successor (Benoît Magimel) -- once a protégé -- become a ruthless political adversary. Meanwhile, his journalist daughter Julia (Stéphane Caillard) could be stumbling upon a much larger story.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1 ):

On the surface, Marseille is stunning. But this edgy Netflix series seems only superficially concerned with the city's beauty, focusing instead on its shockingly ugly underside. That not only includes sex, drugs, and organized crime but also gangs, greed, and government corruption, resulting in an adults-only destination that's iffy at best for older teens. Not that they'd be terribly interested anyway, as Marseille is clearly targeting a mature audience.

Marseille marks another first for a Netflix series in that it was filmed in France with French-speaking actors as part of a push to create original content for local audiences in other countries. That translates into English subtitles for U.S. subscribers and subtly shifts the emphasis from the acting to the (often laughable) dialogue that's printed on-screen -- like at one point, when Depardieu's character describes the city's flashy new casino complex in grossly sexist terms: "It's like a beautiful woman. The dress isn't enough; you need make-up, jewelry, and a lot of other things besides." Mon dieu, Marseille. Can't we do better?

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Marseille's strong (but subtitled) language. Does the fact that non-French-speaking kids will read it -- rather than hear it -- help soften the blow? Can older teens handle the content, or is it best left for adults?

  • What makes something "binge-worthy," and does Marseille make the cut? How does a show that's created specifically for streaming audiences compare to a show that airs on traditional network television?

  • Will a show such as Marseille have wide-ranging appeal for audiences outside of France and other French-speaking countries? Who's the target audience, and how can you tell?

TV Details

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