Parents' Guide to The Cleaning Lady

TV Fox Drama 2022
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Common Sense Media Review

By Randa Awada , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Cleaning up crime gets messy in solid but predictable drama.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 16+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 2+

Based on 1 kid review

What's the Story?

THE CLEANING LADY -- played by Elodie Yung -- is an undocumented immigrant and trained doctor from Cambodia whose primary goal is to get her sick son treatment he needs. She witnesses a crime on the job and gets dragged into working for a drug and gun cartel, cleaning up their crimes, while receiving some unexpected benefits that begin to sway her morality.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 3 ):
Kids say ( 1 ):

While the series features the underrepresented story of undocumented workers, it's still highly predictable with a pretty dull script. That said, the main characters are layered and viewers will find themselves rooting for their success. It's also exciting to see Cambodian-Filipino actors in the lead roles here, and the story is an important one that doesn't back down on showing the lived realities of undocumented people.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the reasons people might commit crimes. What happens when good people start doing bad things in order to save someone they love? What actions can be justified, and what can't?

  • Many undocumented workers in the United States are living in constant fear of being deported, or worse. What are some of the most basic rights they are deprived of, as shown on this series? Why do you think this is an issue in this and other countries?

  • Why can't Thony practice as a doctor in the US?

TV Details

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