Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fun fantasy/reality competition with a few scares.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Quest
What's the Story?
Magical heroic quests are a staple in the fantasy lives of imaginative kids. And, on new series THE QUEST, they're the centerpiece of a unique blend of fantasy and reality on which 12 contestants compete to see which one can be called the One True Hero. Engineered by the executive producers behind the Lord of the Rings movie series and the creators and producers of The Amazing Race, The Quest gives its contestants the task of saving the mythical word of Everealm by working their way through a series of competitive tasks. On each episode, another contestant is culled and asked to wait out the rest of the competition until only the One True Hero remains.
Is It Any Good?
For a certain geeky/quirky section of the world's population, The Quest will be absolute catnip. There are lantern-lit explorations of mysterious woods, beautiful stone-faced women in gowns acting as Fates, chain mail, and horses stomping their hooves. Add to that a lot of screen time spent showing us that this type of adventure is the absolute pinnacle of the contestants' fantasy lives, and you have a recipe for some pretty sweet TV.
The Quest is pretty silly, of course, but so is most fantasy. In contrast to many reality shows that torture its participants, The Quest shows it's having a heck of a lot of fun. That's likely to at least amuse fantasy fans who wouldn't mind sleeping in a castle and learning how to operate a medieval arrow-flinging scorpion for a few weeks.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the format of The Quest. Is it very different from that of other reality shows? How? Consider music, dialogue, setting, and plot in your reply.
Is the viewer meant to like the contestants? Only certain contestants? How can you tell who you're supposed to like and who you're not?
Does it look like fun to be on The Quest? Would you want to compete? What do the contestants win? Is the prize worth competing for, in your opinion?
TV Details
- Premiere date : July 31, 2014
- Network : ABC
- Genre : Reality TV
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic )
- TV rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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
Suggest an 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