Good American Family is now streaming with the first two episodes on Hulu! The series is based on a the true story of Kristine (Ellen Pompeo) and Michael Barnett (Mark Duplass), who adopt Natalia Grace (Imogen Reid). She is a young girl with a rare form of dwarfism. When things start to get weird, as alleged by the Barnetts, they start to fear that perhaps she isn't a young girl, but an adult. There's some mature themes going on here. So what's the age rating, and how mindful do you need to be of it?
If you head over to the Hulu website, you'll find the age rating for the series. Good American Family is rated TV-MA. This means that a production could include scenes that aren't appropriate for kids and teens who are under the age of 17. So how serious is the maturity?
Language and sex: So far based on just what we've seen in the first two episodes, mature language and sex is pretty mild overall. In the opening scene of the series, Kristine does use the word "bi***" as she's getting arrested. That's how the show starts. Other than that, there aren't many swear words. Though there are talks of depression and not feeling enough, which could be triggering for some. The characters also talk about aspects of the female reproductive system, and one scene includes Kristine and Michael kissing in bed, alluding to them having sex. But then it fades to black before anything else happens.
Violence: When it comes to violence, it's clear from the start there's tension between Kristine and Natalia, with the latter having outbursts and tantrums, and throwing objects. But it's nothing too crazy. Though there is a scene with a character holding a knife and threatening another character, plus a stuffed animal's head cut off.
So overall, at least so far with the beginning of Good American Family, I don't think the drama is too mature of a watch even for those who are under 13 years old. Yes, it contains mature themes. But when it comes to human reproductive systems and sex education, the younger teens have already started learning about that in school. So the language, sex, and violence aren't too heavy in my opinion.
But at the end of the day, it depends on your comfort level as a parent on what you want your teens to be watching since the series is still rated TV-MA. As a member of the press, I've been able to watch episode 3 in advance. And there is blood and a tampon shown in a couple of scenes. So there's that to consider too. The safest and best bet is to either see the show yourself first, or at least watch it with your teens.
Good American Family releases new episodes Wednesdays on Hulu.