Parents' Guide to Minerva Academy

Parents need to know that Minerva Academy is an Italian coming-of-age series about teens attending a strict military school, where there's an intense atmosphere of bullying and intimidation as a form of control. It follows a first-year cadet who enrolls hoping to learn what happened to his foster brother, who mysteriously disappeared. Expect strong themes of discipline and repression; characters endure intense training, hazing, and humiliation from both peers and authority figures. Physical fights between teens escalate to other forms of aggression such as drowning and shooting each other with pellet guns. Characters get hurt and bruised, but offenders rarely face consequences. Identity realization and queer awakening are also big parts of the plot. Teens explore their sexuality in flirtatious romances leading to intense make-out sessions and sexual acts. One scene features partial female nudity, and another sees a boy humiliated and assaulted because of his sexual orientation. Parents have complicated relationships with their kids, and a mother uses her son to trade drugs on her behalf. Language is mature, with multiple uses of "f--k," and one use of the homophobic slur "f--got." Despite the complicated situations, the series' main message is one of reflection and standing up for your friends and what you think is right.