A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.
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Positive Messages
a little
Reminiscent of a vintage Western, this series features lawmen who enforce justice with might (and guns). "Crime does not pay" is a classic message, but a simplistic one, and presenting violent cops as heroes is a difficult message to swallow in a modern era.
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Positive Role Models
a little
Raylan is a complicated character who often takes the law into his own hands, as do the officers around him, who seem to take pleasure in roughing up villains. Criminals often lack nuance, and are presented as unrepentant and plain evil.
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Diverse Representations
a little
There are many characters of color, though the main character is White. Race plays a part in this narrative, with a White lawman doing his job in a city with a majority Black population; Raylan's race is referred to as a detriment in Detroit. A Black woman in her fifties is considered a viable love interest by a man around her age.
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
Violence is graphic: Characters are shot and suddenly killed, and we watch blood seeping and flowing at length. Many characters brandish and fire guns; law enforcement officials are as eager to shoot as criminals, and sometimes more so. Expect sudden violence and deaths, including the deaths of sympathetic characters we've begun to know. A dead deer is shown lashed to a car in one scene.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
some
Characters have sex with moaning, suggestive movements, and implied nudity, though we don't see actual private parts. We do see nudity in a non-sexual context: a man's buttocks are visible as he looks out a window. Sexual talk can be vulgar, with references to "banging" and wanting "a piece" as well as a woman affirming she would "f--k the s--t out of" a particular male celebrity.
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Language
a lot
Language is frequent. Cursing includes "motherf--ker," "f--k," "s--t," "hell," "ass," "bitch," "a--hole."
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Products & Purchases
very little
A few mentions of brands, such as Steak and Shake.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
some
Characters drink liquor in beer in bars, and one mentioned dealing with an emotional upset by drinking himself "stupid." Many characters smoke cigarettes; a woman lights up a joint after sex and smokes it. Drugs play a part in crimes, like when a criminal robs a drug dealer of money and baggies of cannabis.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this mature drama is a reboot of the crime drama Justified. Like the original, this series features lots of gunfire, and onscreen bloody deaths, often sudden. Law enforcement officers are as violent as criminals: they shoot suspects, command dogs to attack, suddenly push suspects down the stairs just as they're about to stand down. Drugs play a part in criminal cases, like when a criminal robs drug dealers of money in cases and cannabis in baggies. In other scenes, characters drink liquor and smoke cannabis, as well as cigarettes. Sexual scenes include characters moaning and moving suggestively, as well as nudity in a non-sexual context: a man's buttocks are visible as he looks out a window nude. Language is frequent. Cursing includes "f--k," "s--t," "hell," "ass," "bitch," "a--hole."
What's the Story?
Years after the events depicted in the series Justified, JUSTIFIED: CITY PRIMEVAL picks up with U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) drawn into a case in Detroit, when a judge's car is bombed. Hoping for a quick resolution so he can spend more time with his rebellious daughter Willa (Vivian Olyphant), Givens instead finds that something's gone very awry in Motor City. Most prominently, the force of chaos is in the form of ruthless criminal Clement (Boyd Holbrook), along with a cast of local miscreants and the law enforcement officers who work to track them down. Like the original Justified, this series is based on a novel by Elmore Leonard.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Raylan's idea of dispensing justice. Do you think it's OK for him to shoot villains, even if they don't pose an immediate threat?
Did you watch Justified? How does this show compare? How does the new setting and new characters change Raylan, if at all?
How does this show, set in the present, resemble a classic Western? Does Raylan ever seem out of place in modern times, when one man is not permitted to dole out justice on his own?
