Parents' Guide to

Undercovers

By Kari Croop, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Breezy, action-heavy series puts style over substance.

TV NBC Action 2010
Undercovers Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 17+

Based on 1 parent review

Irmaeg
Irmaeg Parent of 3-year-old
February 1, 2011
age 17+
It shows how two people with careers can work through issues and stay married. In a world where most shows have no morale boundaries, this one is about a couple that is leagally sharing intimate moments in a very tasteful manner. As for the violence, there is more violence in Xbox games by far.

This title has:

Great role models
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Five years after walking away from jobs with the Central Intelligence Agency and becoming professional caterers, husband and wife Steven and Samantha Bloom (Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw) are recruited back to work as agents to help the government find an operative who's gone missing. Splitting their time between exotic locales and their Los Angeles home, they're doing their best to balance busy double lives. But their covert affairs also bring some much-needed spice back into their relationship.

Is It Any Good?

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

Even though it's got the J.J. Abrams seal of approval (he created the series and directed the pilot), UNDERCOVERS doesn't run off with any prizes, particularly when it comes to writing and story. (Could it get any more ridiculous than married caterers who double as CIA agents? Well, it does when Samantha tries to settle a catering "crisis" involving dry chicken from her cell phone in a speeding car with a criminal in the backseat.) Maybe it's a case of great expectations. After all, you kind of expect that the guy behind slickly produced hits like Alias and Lost will always deliver a winner.

That's not to say that Undercovers falls short on all fronts. Along with good looks, Kodjoe and Mbatha-Raw bring strong chemistry and a sense of fun to the proceedings, and Ben Schwartz ponies up with a spot-on but sparse comic turn as a fellow CIA agent with a bit of a man-crush on Kodjoe. We get the breezy nod to classic series like Hart to Hart and Scarecrow and Mrs. King -- but it would be nice to get that style with a side of substance.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how the show uses violence. Does it advance the plot, or is it merely meant to entertain? Is the level of violence realistic, or does it ever feel overblown?

  • How do Steven and Samantha measure up as role models? Do their jobs give them a little leeway when it comes to iffy behavior? How do you think their partnership compares to the experiences of real-life government agents?

  • How does this program compare to other TV shows about spies? What does it do differently, and does it work?

TV Details

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