Parents' Guide to

Motherland: Fort Salem

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Army of witches fight for USA in sometimes violent show.

TV Freeform Drama 2020
Motherland: Fort Salem Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • Motherland: Fort Salem TV Series: Addressing the new recruits.
  • Motherland: Fort Salem TV Series: The trio of recruits comes together.
  • Motherland: Fort Salem TV Series: General Alder.
  • Motherland: Fort Salem TV Series: Basic training.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 5 parent reviews

AntinGorokh
AntinGorokh Adult
April 16, 2020
age 14+

Amazing show in right time with right messages

Witches as military. Here a few reasons why to watch it: 1. It has a canon lead lesbian character. You heard that right. The one of three LEAD characters is a lesbian. 2. It’s ALL about girls and sisterhood. There are almost no male characters and the few male characters that exist serve only as a way to further the girl’s story lines 3. The show devotes a HUGE amount of time to the WLW relationship. It’s like a fanfic come to life. It feeds you beyond your wildest dreams. And yes there will drama but god the road to the drama is amazing 4. The most comprehensive world building you have ever seen. We are talking about a whole alternative history where witches are part of our world. Not just in the USA but globally. Every major global event and war has been affected by witches. The Legendary Witch Adler is right there alongside Washington, Lincoln and other historical figures And witches are not just regular people who do the occasional spell the way we see them in other shows. They have their whole distinct culture. Different holidays, different take on marriage, different take on the world….It’s wonderful and they have really done their research on witchcraft 5. Beautiful cinematography. Fort Salem said no to the dark gritty, no to the Vancouver forests that we will know painfully. Everything is bright, beautiful, enchanting 6. It’s well written. You can see that there is a real plan and they are not just doing a monster of the week or drama for drama’s sake 7. Diverse cast from all over the world. South Africa, Canada, USA. Sweden, Belgium. So as you can imagine a show centered around women with a lesbian lead is going to struggle. Bitter boys are already trying to drag it down so this show needs as much as support as it can. Please watch it now. It`s a great show for all ages. ps: The cast of show very involved twith their fans, regulary after show episodes, many video and photo establish world of the show on instagram.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
Ema J.
Ema J. Parent
September 21, 2021
age 17+

Has a teen vibe but does have sexual content and language

I've very strict standards at home, bad language and sexual content won't go past my kids till they 18 at least and 17 as far clothed mild sexual content. So it depends what you're happy with your kids watching. I personally think tv is saturated with too much of it these days, opening younger audiences to absorb it as though its okay for their age. Childhood is a curious age and a childhood it should remain, it's only a small window in their whole lives. It's frustrating we've got to monitor everything. All of Netflix age 15 stuff is actually 18 interms of content so that's a bit deceptive really. So I set the watch age at 12 on there. I know they like this genre and it does appear to be a good show but I'll suggest it to them when they are a wee bit older.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM is a supernatural series that features a group of young recruits in an army of witches. Over three hundred years ago, witch Sarah Alder (Lyne Renee) signed the Salem Accord with the leaders of what became the United States government, ending the persecution of witches and allowing them to fight for their country. Now the rebellious Raelle Collar (Taylor Hickson), the enthusiastic Tally Craven (Jessica Sutton), and Abigail Bellweather (Ashley Nicole Williams), who comes from a long line of military witches, have been drafted by the Witch's Army as new recruits, and are training in combat magic under the watchful eye of now-General Alder and Drill Sergeant Anacostia Quartermaine (Demetria McKinney). But the threat posed by "The Spree," an ancient evil force that uses contemporary terrorist tactics, is growing, and the trio may be deployed sooner than they think.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
Kids say (6):

This dark series creates an alternative universe in which a powerful matriarchy is fighting at the front lines to defend the United States. It features lots of predictable drama, ranging from personality clashes to strong sexual tensions between characters. The attempt to rewrite American history from the witch's point of view isn't very nuanced, either. But the lack of a male voice throughout the show is unique, and the mystic training and combat style of the witch military force is what makes it fun. If you like this sort of entertainment, Motherland: Fort Salem is worth tuning into.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about witches. How does Motherland: Fort Salem portray their culture within this alternative universe? What are some of the show's attempts to break common stereotypes about what it means to be a witch? Does it challenge stereotypes about women?

  • What makes a series feminist? Is it because it has an all-female cast? Because it features strong women? Should this show be classified as a feminist series? Why?

  • The show deals with suicide. Talk about what to do and who to call if you or someone you know is suicidal.

TV Details

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