Parents' Guide to

Outsourced

By Kari Croop, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Workplace sitcom mines laughs from cross-cultural gaffes.

TV NBC Comedy 2010
Outsourced Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 5 parent reviews

mlort
mlort Parent of 10-year-old
April 16, 2011
age 10+

Decide for yourself.

Outsourcing sucks but Outsourced is great! This show doesn't overdo the sex. It also highlightes the idiocy of stereotyping.
shan83
shan83 Adult
February 11, 2011
age 16+
This a guilty pleasure to watch before bed mostly for adults and teenagers. I rate it 4 stars with the age viewing as 16 and over since there are mild sex and bedroom scenes on the show. I see a lot of teenagers watching and laughing at the jokes more compared to tweens. Yet, I'm sure the younger viewers would love the funny products that the outsource company sells in India and the actors are great entertainers! Highly recommended to viewers who would like to see a different view of the workforce and culture in India. I think it's great that American tv is beginning to change a little. We need more culture clash tv shows.

This title has:

Too much sex
Great messages
Great role models
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

When call center manager Todd Dempsey (Ben Rappaport) shows up for work on his first day after management training, he finds out that his entire department has been OUTSOURCED to India, a move that will save the Mid America Novelties company a fortune. Now, the only way Todd can keep his job is if he agrees to move overseas to manage the company's newly acquired Indian sales team, a motley crew that includes eager-to-please ladies' man Manmeet (Sacha Dhawan), brainy beauty Asha (Rebecca Hazlewood), and managerial rival Rajiv (Rizwan Manji).

Is It Any Good?

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

Most people probably missed the quirky 2006 indie film that inspired this fish-out-of-water workplace sitcom, but the TV version generally improves upon the original by making some minor adjustments to the plot -- including the addition of a few new characters -- and generating a lot more laughs. Diedrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show) gets some of the best one-liners as a transplanted American who prefers to stay isolated rather than assimilate, importing his own supply of PB&J, Cheetos, and Ding Dongs to avoid eating Indian food. But so does Parvesh Cheena, who proves to be a charming scene stealer as the socially awkward Gupta.

In an era of economic uncertainty, real-life outsourcing is an undeniably timely topic ... although Americans who've seen their own jobs shipped overseas might not be in the mood to laugh about it. Still, the series has proven its worth as a lighthearted means to common ground through comedy and clever satire, without resorting to one-dimensional and predictable cultural stereotypes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about stereotyping on television. Is Outsourced breaking barriers for actors of Indian descent, or is it reinforcing negative stereotypes? How are Indian characters portrayed on this show?

  • What's the show's take on consumerism? Is the portrayal of Americans' need to buy things they don't need accurate?

  • Has your family been affected by a corporation's decision to outsource jobs to another country? Did that negatively impact your views of service workers overseas?

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.

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