Parents' Guide to

The Letter for the King

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Underdog hero stands out in book-based fantasy series.

TV Netflix Drama 2020
The Letter for the King Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 17 parent reviews

age 16+

Caught off guard

I’m a huge believer that kids should maintain their innocence as long as possible so my review echoes that . At first we loved the show for the “light” intensity and mood . It was just intense enough and action packed but not too much . But things started popping in like people disrobing (no nudity ) and kids cuddling /kissing including boys kissing . Things that could Have been left out . Language is good , even the violence isn’t as bad as most cartoons these days

This title has:

Great role models
Too much sex
7 people found this helpful.
age 12+

Time to switch to PluggedIn.com

The show itself is pretty good. Our family enjoyed it. Like mentioned already, the two teen boys kissing was unexpected. It was mild for sure, but Common Sense Media failed to include it in the rating. I trust coming sense media and completely trusted them and for whatever reason they dropped there ball here. PluggedIn.com however mentions the same sex kiss, and for that reason, I'm switching to pluggedin from now on. Not disappointed in the show, disappointed in common sense media.
6 people found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (17):
Kids say (30):

Billed by Netflix as a Game of Thrones for a younger crowd, this fantasy series has some pitfalls, but its choice of a hero makes up for most of what bogs down the story. Tiuri is instantly likable, a clear underdog who's pressured by his stepfather's position to be more than he is. He's not terribly strong, not great with a sword, and only serviceable in a jousting contest, which puts him at a severe disadvantage in the knight games that provide our first good look at him. His competitors laugh at him, and his stepfather seems ashamed. As the story wears on and Tiuri comes into his own, though, we see that despite what society tells him, it's not those qualities that determine his success.

The Letter for the King tries so hard to make its story a sweeping, engrossing saga that it sometimes loses itself in the magnitude it's attempting to convey. Viewers are inundated with characters and kingdoms (all with unfamiliar names, of course), prophecies and social constructs, stereotypes and mysticism right from the start, and it's a little too much to grasp at first. It takes several episodes for the series to really gain traction and the pieces to fall into place, at which point more interesting characters are introduced and factor into Tiuri's quest, either as allies or as those who hope to keep him from fulfilling it. One thing the series does very well is make the young characters far more interesting than the adults, and viewers will especially appreciate the complexities of Tiuri's and Lavinia's relationship and the dynamics that play out among the teens tasked with tracking down and capturing the young hero. The bottom line? This series can be laborious to watch, especially in the beginning, but it's beautifully adapted and it minimizes the violence and language that can permeate the fantasy genre.

TV Details

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