Total Drama Action

TV review by Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media
Total Drama Action Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 10+

Island sequel keeps laughs coming with reality spoof.

Cartoon Network Kids' Animation 2009
Rate TV

Parents say

age 11+

Based on 22 reviews

Kids say

age 9+

Based on 86 reviews

Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Rate tv

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.

A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this sequel to popular animated reality spoof Total Drama Island is best enjoyed by tweens and teens who can appreciate its satirical view of real-life shows like Survivor. For this age group, there's nothing really worrisome beyond some potty humor (mostly belches and farts), kissing, and occasional innuendo. The heavily stereotyped characters invite obvious labels (the nerd, the drama queen, the outcast, etc.), but the extreme nature of their personalities is meant to spoof how actual reality shows are cast -- and ultimately only adds to the show's satirical nature.

Community Reviews

Bubsy2
Bubsy2 Adult
September 3, 2020
age 18+

Good season. Only the high age ranking to bring the parent rating to 12+

This is the sequel to arguably one of the best written and excited shows. Total drama Island. While this one is more appropriate. The storylines in the season suck. 1. Trent is a s*mp and is weird 2. Gwen dumps Trent and foreshadows love to Duncan 3. Dj is now complete mommas boy 4. Geoff and Bridgette Lose first cause all they do is kiss. 5. Geoff and Bridgette Have a aftermath show where Geoff is Chris but more sane. 6. Heather is bald and doesn’t even care 7. Beth won not Lindsay 8. No main antagonist 9. Leshawna isn’t cool 10. Courtney is a brat 11. Chef only cares bout $$ 12.etc but 2 hard to thing

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
MissCaptianPilot
MissCaptianPilot Adult
July 18, 2019
age 10+

This show is fine

This was one of my favorite shows as a kid and I have it on Netflix on the background and they’ve censored and changed it so much and it sucks now. To everyone saying how “inappropriate” it is, this she was fine. There was so swear words worse than “crap” on it which is fine compared to what most kids say these days. They’ve even changed a part where a girls words are bleeped out to her saying something else during the “bleep”. Why do we need to censor a censor. Trust me parents, I’ve been around a lot of kids and they know much worse than what’s on this show

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 22 parent reviews

What's the Story?

TOTAL DRAMA ACTION is the follow up to the popular reality cartoon Total Drama Island. The new iteration reunites 14 of the original campers at an abandoned movie set for six weeks of competition, with the eventual winner claiming a $1 million prize. The contestants -- or "castmates," as they're called -- take part in movie genre-themed challenges doled out by host Chris McClean (voiced by Christian Potenza). At the conclusion of most episodes, the castmates vote to send one of their peers home.

Is It Any Good?

Its unique TV genre may be an oxymoron, but this animated reality spoof is so good at what it does that it might just make a dent in "real" reality shows' grip on the viewer market. If you're even moderately familiar with competition shows like Survivor and Fear Factor (and who can avoid them these days?), you'll get a kick out of this cartoon's satirical view of the stereotypical contestant pool, peppy host, and outrageous challenges the castmates must endure.

As for your kids, it's a safe bet that if they're too young to watch live-action reality shows, there's really no need for them to tune into a cartoon that spoofs them, since they won't understand most of the humor and may get the wrong idea about the intentionally one-dimensional characters. On the other hand, tweens and teens who can put the characters' obvious flaws and mildly bad behavior into context and will see this show for what it truly is: a comical commentary on the state of current entertainment.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about reality TV. Why are competition shows like American Idol, Survivor, and The Bachelor so popular?

  • Do you like watching these types of shows? How are they different from traditional game shows? Do you think the content is really "real"?

  • Do you think spoofs like this one could change how we view real reality shows?

TV Details

Our Editors Recommend

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