Parents' Guide to The Hasselhoffs

TV A&E Reality TV 2010
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Common Sense Media Review

Kari Croop By Kari Croop , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 14+

Famous family's "reality" is hokey but harmless.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 14+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

What's the Story?

Most people know David Hasselhoff and his daughters Hayley and Taylor-Ann as THE HASSELHOFFS. But as a family, they're anything but average, thanks to David's career as an actor (Knight Rider, Baywatch), singer, and television personality (America's Got Talent) whose star is somewhat tarnished due to his public battles with alcoholism. While Hayley works to balance her new job as an actress with a side gig making music with her sister, the girls' dad sets out to get his mojo back -- and make sure his girls make responsible choices.

Is It Any Good?

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

If you think about it, it's kind of surprising that it took this long for David Hasselhoff to get his own reality series. After all, his public persona is the perfect mix of bravado and bizarre, and he has no problem saying things like, "Sometimes, it can be a real hassle to be a Hoff" with a straight face. So maybe that's why The Hasselhoffs works, even though it smells more-than-slightly of staged desperation: "The Hoff" is just surreal enough to pull it off.

(Younger viewers might recognize Hasselhoff's daughter Hayley from the ABC Family series Huge, where she played the prettiest and most popular girl at a weight-loss camp for teens -- but, hopefully, they'll also see that her current size is perfectly healthy.)

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about parent-child dynamics and the way they're portrayed on TV. Are famous families any different than regular families? Do you envy the children of celebrities, or do you prefer your own non-famous folks?

  • How real are the things you're seeing? Does anything about the series seem staged? How can you tell?

  • How did Hasselhoff's past battles with alcoholism affect his family? Would his relationship with his daughters be different if he hadn't let them down in the past, both privately and publicly? Would the girls be as close as they seem to be now if they hadn't lived through their father's addiction?

TV Details

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