Common Sense Media Review
By Marty Brown
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Affable shutdown comedy has profanity, sexual innuendo.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Staged
What's the Story?
STAGED begins when a project that actors David Tennant and Michael Sheen are working on gets canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over a series of videoconferences, they decide to begin rehearsing a new production during lockdown, a performance of the Italian absurdist masterpiece Six Characters in Search of an Author. Soon enough, both the play and the pandemic completely take over their lives.
Is It Any Good?
The burgeoning subgenre of movies and shows built around videoconferencing has felt doomed from the start. While it provides a way for actors and writers to produce new material during the COVID-19 pandemic, teleconferencing is a visual dead zone, and the stories tend to be about lockdown-induced anxiety and boredom. Yawns are contagious; if actors are doing it, viewers probably are as well. Staged is a cut above just by virtue of being willing to move the camera around, change the set, and introduce new characters, including some fun guest appearances. The jokes are pretty standard stuff about video etiquette and actors' egos, but Tennant and Sheen are at least affable and fun to watch. The show really starts to take off in season two, with a twist that turns season one entirely on its axis, but the series is still just pleasantly marking time until lockdown ends.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the shutdown. How are David and Michael forced to adapt to life during the pandemic? What advantages or disadvantages do they have?
How does the pandemic shutdown affect the actors' careers? How do they respond? How are their friends and family impacted?
Did you learn anything about the TV, film, or theater industries from Staged? How does the show change in season 2? What are the differences between Staged in Britain and in America?
TV Details
- Premiere date : March 16, 2021
- Cast : Michael Sheen , David Tennant
- Network : Hulu
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : March 31, 2021
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