Sweet Tooth
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Screen for YOUR familyParent's Guide to Sweet Tooth
Sweet Tooth is a fantasy drama television series from Netflix, based on the DC Comics comic book series by Jeff Lemire. Set in a post-apocalyptic world following a devastating pandemic known as 'The Great Crumble,' the show centers on Gus, a naive young boy who is a human-deer hybrid. As a new generation of hybrid children emerges, they are blamed for the virus and hunted by groups like the 'Last Men.' The series follows Gus's journey with his gruff protector, Tommy Jepperd, as he seeks answers about his origins and a cure for the mysterious 'Sick.' The series, which ran for three seasons, explores themes of survival, prejudice, family, and hope in a dangerous world where humanity struggles to coexist with the new hybrid population. While featuring heartwarming moments and a unique premise, the show also delves into dark and intense subject matter, including violence, medical experimentation on children, and a constant sense of threat. The narrative often balances its whimsical, fairy-tale aesthetic with gritty, serious adult themes, making its target audience somewhat broad, appealing to older children, pre-teens, and adults who appreciate its unique blend of fantasy and dystopia.
Things to Consider
Violence
The series features significant violence, including action-oriented fights, gun use, and disturbing imagery related to a post-apocalyptic world. Violence is a constant threat and often results in injuries and death, with some graphic descriptions and implied events.
In Season 1, a main character is shot, shown with blood on clothing, though surviving. Dead bodies are seen with blood and arrows. A doctor experiments on hybrid children, implied to result in their deaths off-screen, and a brief scene shows a dead hybrid animal that has been cut open. Characters are also seen getting stabbed, hurt, and killed throughout the series, with the BBFC adding 'injury detail' to its content warnings for Season 2.
Scary & Intense Content
Sweet Tooth contains consistently scary and intense content, including psychological horror, graphic implications, and a pervasive sense of threat to children. The show's post-apocalyptic setting and the persecution of hybrids create a dark and often frightening atmosphere.
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Additional Context
Best For Ages
Sweet Tooth is officially rated TV-14 by Netflix, primarily due to elements of fear, language, and smoking. However, considering the frequent, often intense violence, disturbing thematic content involving child experimentation, and pervasive sense of threat, a recommendation for ages 13 and older is appropriate. Younger viewers may find the themes of persecution, death, and graphic implications of violence too frightening or emotionally heavy. Parental guidance is strongly advised for children in the lower end of the TV-14 demographic.
Good to Know
Sweet Tooth maintains a delicate balance between its whimsical visual style and its dark, mature themes. Parents should be aware that despite featuring a child protagonist and animal-human hybrids, the show is not solely for young children. The intense subject matter, including the persecution and experimentation on hybrids, a deadly pandemic, and numerous perilous situations, can be emotionally challenging. While it offers positive messages about empathy and found family, these are presented within a harsh and often violent world. Viewers who prefer to avoid content that interprets hybrids metaphorically as 'trans-genders' may find certain thematic discussions noteworthy, although direct LGBTQ+ character portrayal is not explicitly detailed in the narrative based on current information.
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