Marvel's Cloak & Dagger

We are Marvel fans, and our young teenaged kids have been getting increasingly into sci fi and adventure series & streaming shows. We unwittingly said yes to this one for our 12 year old without looking into it first, and, after she was several episodes in, realized our mistake. While the story features interesting current events (energy consumption & climate change, scientific exploration, and the ongoing chaos and social unrest related to police violence, racism, poverty, and drugs), a setting with a fascinating setting/history (New Orleans & it’s multicultural heritage, Catholic & voodoo traditions), is action packed, keeps you on the edge, and has multiple talented teenaged actors, so many of the details portrayed are best for mature audiences who have already considered/weighed such issues. Both protagonists have emotionally heavy background stories involving crime, drugs, police violence, death, sex. Many side characters also have very flawed backgrounds that blur the lines between hero & villain. For example, a high school aged main protagonist initially prides themselves on their life of crime, including theft, snorting pills, and drugging unsuspecting victims in order to steel from them; both good and bad cops, young people and parents use alcohol, pills, and cocaine and act as if such acts are common place; and violence, theft, illegal activity, drug sales, drug use, murders, beatings, shootings, stabbings, tasering , a drunk driving death, corporate fraud, racism, classism, abuse, family dysfunction, mental illness, casual sex between multiple characters, at least one allusion to oral sex, accidents, drownings, gang violence, a lynching, police brutality/corruption, death by cop, and an attempted rape are portrayed throughout the series. There are also zombies and other super natural characters the protagonists must fight off. In the end, the overall arch of the drama is one of redemption and dealing with internal demons, characters do end up focusing on & eventually choosing moral conduct despite grappling with many difficult life experiences, and mature audiences will likely appreciate the complexity and resolution of the story. But younger teens/preteens will need a lot of debriefing and explanation with this show. As a parent, I didn’t appreciate the 14 rating only to realize that all characters are seniors in high school or adults and that the subject matter was way beyond what we’d normally consider a 13/14 year old appropriateness. It’s more cut out for young adults who’ve had some time & experience to know about the world and understand the weight of what’s portrayed here. I’d say a mature 16 y/o or 17+.

My wife and I were looking forward to season 2, but not once did we see a commercial advertisement on Cloak and Dagger. B.S. to rate a great series when not everyone knows about it. Not even on Google. Freeform needs to advertise and play on demand. I'd be watching it now if it was. Now have to see if it's on HULU now that I have a password for it today from our son's subscription. Get it together FREEFORM. I'm sick of hearing about great shows being on the bubble of cancellation or being cancelled altogether due to morons at the network that expect way to much. Lucifer for example. 10 stars it deserves. Fox cancelled Enterprise. Why......because fox sucks. Pure stupidity. Don't be like FOX!!!!! Millennials are not the only fans. Quit thinking about millennials, they are not the only fans. They can't even depend on themselves let alone stick around to commit to 1 tv show, let alone multiple tv series. Aftermath was cool, but got cancelled too. Stop with the too high expectations.