Parents' Guide to

The Mysteries of Laura

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Throwback cop dramedy with some surprising sex, language.

TV NBC Drama 2014
The Mysteries of Laura Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 14+

Based on 1 parent review

age 14+

dont really get the bad reviews

in this show you get a good douse of pretty much everything humor heart and full force action well worth a watch give it a try laura dimand is fantastic as is the rest of the crew i highly recommend that you give this a try you will probably love it

This title has:

Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Debra Messing, so adorably and effervescently charming in Will & Grace, hasn't lost her sparkle, and The Mysteries of Laura does have a glib, easy charm that fans of easygoing detective series such as The Mentalist and Murder, She Wrote will appreciate. Laura's lightness makes this show a throwback, and its case-of-the-week setup is familiar but not unappealingly so.

Nonetheless, Laura does hit some sour notes that may make it a bit harder for some viewers. It's nice that Laura Diamond is a powerful woman at work in a mostly male milieu. But did the only other woman at work have to be a rival, with the two frequently sniping at each other? In addition, It's creepy to let Laura disregard the law to the extent that she shoots a suspect's ear off rather than waiting for a hostage negotiator and threatens to bust a teacher for a marijuana possession rap if she doesn't get her an interview at a noted private school. If the show were more absurd, such hijinks would be easier to laugh off. But the show seems to want us to take Laura and her issues seriously yet regard her lapses under the law as no big deal, a tone as uneven as the laughs. On the plus side, Messing and Lucas have great chemistry, but the cases themselves aren't as compelling as they could be, and Laura's dramatic reveals smack more of Scooby-Doo than they probably should.

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.

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