Parents' Guide to

The IT Crowd

By Will Wade, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Geeks rule in silly British sitcom about corporate culture.

TV IFC Comedy 2006
The IT Crowd TV poster

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 13+

Based on 4 parent reviews

Aleksei Krushnic
Aleksei Krushnic Parent of 3, 7, 13 and 15-year-old
March 30, 2011
age 12+
I absolutely love this show, its hilarious. I don't let my two youngest (Dawn and Liev, ages 3 and 7 respectively) watch it however.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
1 person found this helpful.
Leo H.
Leo H. Adult
March 23, 2023
age 18+

Great shame that they didn't bleep out all the foul language

Enjoying this series on Netflix but it is spoilt with the fact that not all the foul language is bleeped out, If that had been done it wouldn't have spoilt the funniness of the show. In fact, done correctly it could have actually added the funniness of it. I don't understand why anyone would say that "Language is not a big part of the show, in fact, it's seldom enough" The small amount of foul language is only there because of the lack of writing skill and imagination. Having said the above, I'll continue watching the whole series but as I don't think kids should hear foul language, I wouldn't let my kids watch it. There is NEVER a need for foul language, and if the writers had the skill required, there would be none.
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What's the Story?

The top executives at Reynholm Industries have bright, spacious offices with amazing views of London; the three-person technical support team works from a dingy, cluttered basement warren. And that really explains the social divide between THE IT CROWD and the people they both help and mock. Maurice (Richard Ayoade) is the standard nerd, a wizard with machines and few social skills. His colleague, Roy (Chris O'Dowd), is equally geeky, while Jen (Katherine Parkinson) is a bit out of place as a non-techie who's bluffed her way into a job managing the IT department. That makes her the conduit between the geeks and the non-geeks, responsible for supervising the barely controlled chaos of the tech team and serving as translator for people who rarely seem to speak the same language.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4 ):
Kids say (22 ):

Misunderstanding and condescension are the heart of The IT Crowd, and though the show manages tto mock everyone almost equally, the series is clearly on the side of the techies. The executives come off as incompetent, sexist idiots, while the lads in the basement seem like fun-loving savants who can repair almost anything but can't land a date. Both groups look down on each other's very obvious flaws.

It's fertile ground for comedy, and some of the situations are quite funny, though other conflicts are somewhat predictable and the focus on stereotypical geeks might seem offensive to some people. And don't expect all the jokes to be about computers; many are about sex and the lengths to which people will go while pursuing a romantic connection. Not surprisingly, few of those efforts succeed, giving the characters more fodder for their entertaining tales of social ineptitude.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about stereotypes. Why do so many TV shows and films portray people who work with computers as having poor social skills? Do you think that's accurate? Do you think it's acceptable to make fun of "geeks"? Why or why not? Do you think the British geek cliches are any different from the standard-issue techies seen on U.S. shows?

TV Details

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