Parents' Guide to

Z Nation

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Constant violence, gore in dark zombie drama.

TV Syfy Drama 2014
Z Nation Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 12 parent reviews

age 11+

Great show but my children enjoy TWD much better.

As some of us know, children are actually starting to mature at younger ages every generation. I would allow my 11 year old to watch this show as there’s only sexually suggestive content rather than actual you know what.
1 person found this helpful.
age 12+

It's a great show for preteens and teenagers!

When I saw that this was rated +18, I was baffled! On this same sight I saw that the Walking Dead was rated +16! I know for a fact that the Walking is rated TVMA! (TVMature) I've seen the Walking Dead, and it has adult scenes . The Walking Dead's violence is actually stomach churning . I know this is not a review for The Walking Dead so let's get back on track. This have gore, but what do you expect it's a zombie TV show? My daughter is hooked on the show and it makes me happy to see how much she enjoys it.

This title has:

Great role models
1 person found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (12):
Kids say (16):

It's not that zombies aren't cool or that the idea of a zombie show isn't a natural for the Syfy network. It's just that Z Nation is so trope-ish as to be laughable. You've got your zombie virus that destroyed Life As We Know It -- ho hum -- and then your survivors with a (pointless?) mission and your shambling zombies that break into the action approximately every 2.5 minutes, or twice between each commercial break, with a big meaningless battle royale at the end. Feh.

Even things that would be cool are rendered blah by the flat writing. Harold Perrineau, who was sadly underused on Lost (his main function was to shout, "Waaaaaaalt!"), is a terrific actor. Does he get meaty lines and heroic action? Sadly, no. DJ Qualls, a predictably quirky presence in film, is stuck playing Radar O'Reilly on a communications system, given little to do. It all comes off as a limp imitation of The Walking Dead, itself a rather predictable (if wildly popular) show.

TV Details

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