Parents' Guide to

Undercover High

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Revealing reality series exposes teen experience.

TV A&E Reality TV 2018
Undercover High Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

Is It Any Good?

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

Nostalgia has no place in this eye-opening series that makes lab rats out of seven adults willing to subject themselves to the ups and downs of high school for a second time. You might think that having safely put to rest their own teen years would render them somewhat impervious to the insecurities their new acquaintances experience, but that's definitely not the case. It's evident from the start that what they see and hear among their new peers has an impact on them, and not always in a positive way. Through the adults' unique perspective, viewers come to see how race, projected class, and social striations (jocks, nerds, the popular kids, etc.) influence these teens and how, through it all, social media plays a dominant, and often invasive, role in their interactions with each other.

Kudos to the creators who drummed up a diverse cast not only with regard to race, gender, and geographical background, but also in general high school experiences of their own. Among the adult students are a self-professed teen bully, a gay man whose sexuality made his teen years difficult, a teen mom, and a man whose learning disability caused self-esteem issues. Their unique perspectives -- and their determination to use their personal experiences to help inspire the teens they meet -- add some much-needed feel-good moments to a show that can be difficult to watch at times, especially from a parent's seat. Even so, it's important to remember the role of shock value in a heavily edited "reality" series like Undercover High that ultimately presents a proportionally small slice of the teens' broader lives.

TV Details

  • Premiere date: January 9, 2018
  • Network: A&E
  • Genre: Reality TV
  • Topics: High School
  • TV rating: TV-14
  • Last updated: February 27, 2022

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