Parents' Guide to Playing Gracie Darling

TV Netflix Drama 2025
Playing Gracie Darling TV Poster: A black bird falls. A tag reads “Some Games Never End” at the top.

Common Sense Media Review

By Ty'Kira Smalls , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

The past comes to haunt in mystery drama series; language.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Morgana O'Reilly stands in a forest. She wears a red button-down shirt with thin white stripes.
  • Kristina Bogic, Kavan Meegamuge, Eloise Rothfield and Jaimie Wood sit crisscross in a circle while holding hands.
  • Rudi Dharmalingam stands in a forest. He wears a black jacket with a police patch on the arm, and a dark shirt with a name tag.

Parent and Kid Reviews

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What's the Story?

PLAYING GRACIE DARLING starts with a séance in 1997. A group of teens contact a spirit, but the malicious spirit possesses Gracie Darling (Kristina Bogic) and then she disappears. Twenty-seven years later, Gracie's best friend Joni Grey (Morgana O'Reilly) is working as a psychologist when she's contacted by Jay (Rudi Dharmalingam) from back home. Another Darling girl has gone missing, and this time it's hard to ignore the similarities between her and Gracie's vanishing. Joni must confront her past to save this girl's future.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

This series has an OK mystery but can get disjointed at times. Playing Gracie Darling is dark, cryptic, and thrilling. Performances from the young cast and O'Reilly sell the near-horror themes, but audiences might need a second to get into the actual story. The language, violence, and smoking makes this suitable for older teens.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Playing Gracie Darling portrays grief and generations. How has Joni handled her feelings about Gracie's disappearance, and how does that change throughout the series? How does this event affect the younger kids in town? Do you think working through grief is a communal or individual process?

  • What different genres are presented in this series? How does the show use different elements to drive the mystery in this story forward?

TV Details

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Playing Gracie Darling TV Poster: A black bird falls. A tag reads “Some Games Never End” at the top.

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