Common Sense Media Review
By Emily Ashby
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Star-studded exposé on the planet's current health status.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Years of Living Dangerously
What's the Story?
YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY is a docuseries that explores the worldwide effects of climate change on both the scientific and the human levels. Dispatching celebrity correspondents like Harrison Ford and Don Cheadle, the series goes on location to areas hardest hit by global warming, from drought-ridden Texas to the Indonesian forests that are being destroyed in favor of more lucrative crops. The teams gather insight from local experts and average people whose lives and livelihoods have been altered drastically by recent climate change. In each place, they reflect on the damage that's already been done and consider what can be done to turn the tide of destruction.
Is It Any Good?
Produced by a team of veteran news reporters and Hollywood movie-makers like James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Years of Living Dangerously is a hard-hitting exposé on the planet's current health status, and the news isn't good. Experts make the case that devastating droughts, abnormal weather patterns, and even a modern war can be blamed on climate change, and they back up their claims with some pretty convincing evidence and a lot of disheartening scenes of burning forests and computer projections of future environmental damage. Even the celebrities involved lend surprising credence to the project, as each one boasts longstanding involvement in conservation-related nonprofit work and all are clearly affected by what they witness on assignment.
But beneath its expertly crafted appearance beats the heart of a decidedly biased and extremely divisive issue in climate change itself. This documentary's purpose is to convince viewers that years of humans "living dangerously" is the overwhelming -- if not the sole -- cause of the planet's predicament today, and contrasting opinions (and their believers) are either discredited or disregarded. This is neither accidental nor unexpected in a tell-all documentary, of course, but such a one-sided presentation might raise some questions from teens who know of other theories on the subject.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about their thoughts on the issue of climate change. Do you believe all of the claims made by the show's experts? How far-reaching are the effects of global warming? In what ways do economies and people suffer even in areas not directly affected by these kinds of weather fluctuations?
Teens: To what degree do you think it's important for people to take responsibility for the planet? Is it plausible to think that a majority of people will? How are the interests of governments and those of average people different on this issue?
Why do you think the celebrities involved in this show signed on to it? What do they get out of the deal? Does their involvement further the project's cause? What are the upsides to celebrity status? The drawbacks?
TV Details
- Premiere date : April 13, 2014
- Cast : Harrison Ford , Matt Damon , Don Cheadle
- Network : Showtime
- Genre : Educational
- Topics : Animals ( Ocean Creatures , Wild Animals ) , STEM
- TV rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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