Parents' Guide to

The Cleveland Show

By Will Wade, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Raunchy animated Family Guy spin-off isn't for kids.

TV Fox Comedy 2009
The Cleveland Show Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all
age 14+

Based on 20 parent reviews

Lushcoal90
Lushcoal90 Parent of 18-year-old
June 12, 2022
age 18+
This is for ages 18 and up

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
2 people found this helpful.
Accurate P.
Accurate P. Parent of 15-year-old
August 16, 2022
age 13+
Rated TV-14
1 person found this helpful.
See all 20 parent reviews

What's the Story?

After an acrimonious divorce leaves him homeless, Cleveland Brown (voiced by Mike Henry) moves back to his hometown and marries his high school sweetheart, Donna (Sanaa Lathan). The new couple, along with Cleveland's teenage son, Cleveland Jr. (Kevin Michael Richardson), and Donna's two kids -- mouthy high school student Roberta (Reagan Gomez-Preston) and precocious kindergartener Rallo (Henry again) -- try to create a happy, blended family in this animated comedy spin-off of Family Guy. (Naturally, their neighbors happen to be a family of bears -- yes, actual bears.)

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (20):
Kids say (82):

Fans of Family Guy know what to expect from creator Seth MacFarlane. Each episode of THE CLEVELAND SHOW is rude, crude, and raunchy, with quirky characters and plenty of jokes about sex and drinking that aim low and try to wring laughs from sheer shock value. As in MacFarlane's other shows, nothing is off-limits here, especially race. Cleveland is African American, and the show is riddled with quips and offhand comments that play on stereotypes and clichés. You could argue that MacFarlane deserves credit for addressing the topic at all, since so many other shows don't, but the show does little to advance any real discussion of the issue.

The show has a soft and sweet center, as Cleveland tries to pursue his dreams and find love with his old flame. But this positive message is almost completely buried in sophomoric humor, and it's hardly worth the effort to sift through the dreck to get there.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about raunchy humor. Many of the show's jokes tread very close to the line between outrageous and offensive. Do you find shows like this funny, or do they go too far? Who decides what "too far" is?

  • The show features repeated references to race and often includes jokes based on racial stereotypes. Is that kind of humor ever OK?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended tv lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate