Parents' Guide to Toxic Town

TV Netflix Drama 2025
Toxic Town TV show poster: Susan McIntyre and her son, with the Corby factory in the background

Common Sense Media Review

Marty Brown By Marty Brown , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 14+

Swears, stereotypes as mums battle town over harm to babies.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 14+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

What's the Story?

TOXIC TOWN tells the story of a group of mothers in the UK town of Corby who band together to fight for justice after their children are born with disabilities.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

This mini-series may be a shot across the bow at certain contemporary environmental rollbacks, but some of the ways it treats its subject matter feel incredibly dated. It's hard to get past the Toxic Town stereotype of parents rejecting their children because of physical disabilities, even more so because the kids tend to be used as props to tell a story about the adults. The lack of compassion is just one way that Toxic Town keeps an arm's length from its subjects, giving more of a play-by-play of a historical event rather than digging into the complexity of it.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Toxic Town portrays the mothers who fight against environmental injustice. What qualities make them effective advocates for their community?

  • How do documentaries and dramatized series based on true events differ? What creative liberties might the creators of Toxic Town have taken, and why?

TV Details

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Toxic Town TV show poster: Susan McIntyre and her son, with the Corby factory in the background

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