Parents' Guide to

Onion News Network

By Matt Springer, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Savage satire of cable network news with mature content.

TV IFC Comedy 2011
Onion News Network Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

The Onion has become a comedy institution, starting first as a print newspaper featuring news parodies and evolving into a popular website, a smartphone app, a series of video podcasts, and a sports satire series. Now The Onion takes its sharp satirical claws and digs them into the cable news stalwarts of Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC with a half-hour parody.

Is It Any Good?

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

Great satire is that which can offend just as easily as it amuses. It's a form of comedy that requries a sharp edge, one that has the potential to wound. In print, The Onion has perfected the delicate task of creating satire that amuses more than it offends, and now that strategy is on display on Onion News Network (ONN), a savage parody of cable network news and a satire of our culture's ongoing infatuation with sensationalism and empty rhetoric.

Like The Onion's newspaper and website, the stories on ONN range from the silly to the savage. A running gag about a fake psychedelic band in which Vice-President Joe Biden was the lead singer shares screen time with a brilliant series of stories on an ONN reporter who has been captured in Afghanistan with no hair and makeup people. It's all played so straight that it's frequently more amusing than funny -- in other words, there may not be many belly laughs, but it's impossible to deny the quality of the comedy. It also may be hardest to laugh when comedy hits this close to our society's basest TV-viewing desires.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how the show focuses its satire on how the news media portrays violence. Do you think the media's coverage of violence is responsible or exploitative?

  • In order to be effective, satire often skirts the line between being offensive and being critical. Do you think this show manages to satirize without offending?

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.

See all recommended tv lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate