Parents' Guide to

Talia in the Kitchen

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Likable female role model outshines soap opera-style series.

TV Nickelodeon Drama 2015
Talia in the Kitchen Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 4+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 2+

GRASS TYPE

age 2+

Good concept, but poorly executed

Nickelodeon has been making these American telenovela/comedy hybrids, Every Witch Way, Make It Pop, and now Talia in the Kitchen, while Every Witch Way was great, This is the other way around. Like many shows on Nickelodeon, it is a good concept, but the plot if you call it was poorly executed, yet so was the acting and comedy, yet flawed in some plots and character names, like Squirrel, and one of the characters has red hair just like Cat Valentine, from Victorious and Sam & Cat, and there's Magic, Magic can be cool, and mixing it with cooking is fine, but they poorly executed the combo, along with the show overall, but thankfully, there's no racism like Make It Pop, which makes it better than that show, The camera quality and lighting, just like Every Witch Way, is more realistic than on the other Nick shows, and also, CSM mistakes English American Telenovelas as Soap Operas, Just because they're English doesn't mean that they're soap operas, Soap operas run for a REALLY LONG TIME, unless cancelled before possibly ending, unlike telenovelas, and have plots that focus on a character learning about the relationships of another character and go through physical and mental conditions, like marriage, sex, birth, murder and kidnappings, Telenovelas, on the other hand, focus on characters going through relationships, but also having to deal with new people and even villains, yet trying to solve the problems in life and how to make it better, which is the case with Every Witch Way, Make It Pop and Talia in the Kitchen, yet the theme songs are catchy and upbeat, whereas soap operas have a soft, melodramatic theme song, just think Days of our Lives or The Bold and the Beautiful, The iconic descrpition should say "Likable female role model outshines telenovela-style series" and the main description should say "Parents need to know that Talia in the Kitchen is a telenovela/comedy that's geared toward kids and centers on a teen who's trying to reopen her family's restaurant with the help of her friends and younger sister. The show's content gives parents no reason to worry, and the fact that the titular character's family is Latin American yields many opportunities for exposing viewers to some basics of that heritage. An ongoing feud between Talia and her neighboring rival restaurateurs causes some sabotage on both sides. Kids will like Talia's gumption and determination to make her dreams come true, even if the results are glaringly unrealistic.", That makes it more accurate, as many people used to mistake telenovelas as soap operas, and sometimes still do today, even though they aren't, since they're too short and have different plots, even though they have new episodes 5 nights a week, I decided to give it 2 stars because it's not the worst I've seen and not the worst on Nickelodeon period, but its plot and comedy are low level and poorly executed, but it's still clean in age content, and gets a TV-G rating like the other clean-type sitcoms, Please feel free to update the Talia in the Kitchen section on CSM.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (2):

Inspired by a Latin American telenovela, Talia in the Kitchen will be a change of pace for kids accustomed to Nickelodeon's typical animated shows and sitcoms set to laugh tracks. On the upside, Talia is a decent role model, thanks to her can-do attitude and her willingness to work hard for what she wants. She also enjoys close ties to her family and continues to be inspired by her Latin American heritage. She makes friends easily and has good values, even if she does retaliate against the Fuccinellis' attempts to thwart her dreams.

That said, the show may have a tough time finding its niche among young viewers because its soap-opera style is so foreign to them. It's not all fun and games; the characters share plenty of serious moments, and some kids won't understand what's behind them. At the same time, the show greatly oversimplifies some complex circumstances, as when underage Talia and her friends set out to open and staff Lola's without any adult supervision. Ultimately the show is an acquired taste, but rest assured that if your kids do tune in, there's little content that should cause concern.

TV Details

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