Parents' Guide to

Panic

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Violent stunts, gripping twists in book-based teen thriller.

Panic Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 14+

Based on 4 parent reviews

age 13+
I think that this show is good but has some smoking and drinking in it, although it is still good for ages 13 and up. There is a lot of swearing throughout the show.

This title has:

Too much swearing
age 13+
I think that this show should be for 13 and up. It has some scenes where the teens will drink and smoke but it isn’t that bad. It doesn’t have a lot of sex in it, there’s only comments like “your mom screams it every night” when a character is asked for his name. I think that it is a good thriller and suitable for mature 13 year olds and up.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4):
Kids say (6):

It has a seamy "sin and scandal in a small town" vibe that's not unlike Riverdale, but Olivia Welch breathes such life and pathos into main character Heather that this series transcends cliches. Of course, the show's setup is pure high-concept YA (literally), and you'll have to take a couple of grains of salt to accept that the teens of tiny Carp, Texas have been secretly running a high-stakes game of truth-or-dare for generations. Many of the characters are walking stereotypes, too: the swaggering bully who taunts other students into participating in Panic, Heather's geeky BFF who's transparently in love with her, the new guy at school with secrets.

Even Heather herself is something of a type, the good girl attempting to break the cycle of small-town poverty yet fighting insurmountable odds. But with Welch in the role, Heather is easy to root for, transparently transmitting pain and badassery in turn. We feel her pain when the path to a college degree is blocked; we understand all the factors that lead up to her feeling like she has nothing to lose by playing her town's challenge game. And so, as goofy as Panic's setup is, viewers will be drawn in despite themselves, eager to see how this young woman gets herself out of the mess she's in, and how the rest of Carp's secrets will be revealed. For easygoing summer pleasures, you most assuredly could do worse.

TV Details

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