Parents' Guide to

Trophy Wife

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Blended family strains for laughs with wacky sitcom hijinks.

TV ABC Comedy 2013
Trophy Wife Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 10+

Based on 2 parent reviews

knygaard
knygaard Adult
July 31, 2023
age 12+
It is really funny and is a great show if you’re looking for a good laugh! Although I will say there are some other language things that are not mentioned in this review. Nothing major but definitely some scattered language and sexual references! There is also one scene where two adults are hooking up at a party and people are talking about it but nothing is shown. The next day two adults are shown cleaning up the mess the two at the party made while hooking up! Including finding that someone searched on his office computer different sex positions. These small references are not elaborated on, so young watchers might not even pick up on these things. This is why I think anyone older than 12-13 is ok depending on your discretion! Overall I recommend!
1 person found this helpful.
Movielover02
Movielover02 Parent of 14-year-old
January 28, 2014
age 8+

Good show

Wow mostly good but one episode with bleeped br--sts

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much sex
1 person found this helpful.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Kate (Malin Akerman) is a twentysomething party girl who hung up her dancing shoes when she married Pete (Bradley Whitford), a lawyer with two ex-wives and three kids, including teenagers who are just a few years younger than Kate herself. Now Kate's throwing herself into her new role of wife and (step)mother, despite the varying reactions she's getting from her new family. Pete's first wife, Diane (Marcia Gay Harden), regards Kate frostily, as does her teen stepdaughter, Hillary. Most recent ex Jackie (Michaela Watkins) is thrilled to have another set of hands to help her juggle her responsibilities with son Bert. It's a lot to take on, but with a little effort and a lot of luck, Kate just might make it through.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (1 ):

With its blended-family premise, TROPHY WIFE seems to be straining for Modern Family relevance, but neither the writing nor the characterizations are as good. The main problem is that the proceedings neither seem realistic nor rise to the absurdity required for satire. In one episode, a 15-year-old boy supposedly writes an erotic essay about Poseidon for a class on Greek myths; Poseidon hefts his "mighty trident" for a companion with breasts like "milky grapefruits."

Oh, come on. Perhaps, somewhere in the world, there is a particularly geeky 15-year-old who gets off on writing fan fiction about the god of the seas in between bouts of Settlers of Catan. But would he then turn such an essay in to his (motherly, older) teacher? Setting in motion a plot wherein his stepmother has to come to school (in red leather short-shorts, no less) and mistakenly be labeled as the subject of said erotic essay? Yeah, probably not. Big Modern Family fans may want to give this one a shot to see if it satisfies, but we're not promising much.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Familes can talk about whether the members of the Trophy Wife family act like realistic people. Do real people talk like this? Act like this? Do the things they do? Why are real people amped up for TV shows?

  • Watch a similar comedy about a blended family, such as Modern Family. How is Trophy Wife like this other comedy? How is it different?

  • Would you like to live in the family presented on Trophy Wife? Why or why not?

TV Details

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