Parents' Guide to

Chuck

By Will Wade, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Fun spy show is more about comedy than danger.

TV NBC Comedy 2007
Chuck Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 12+

Based on 15 parent reviews

RGK
RGK Adult
March 22, 2019
age 8+

Fun for the whole family

My wife and I both love this show. We watched it when it came out and have since started letting our son (7) watch some episodes. My wife and I like jokes with pop culture references and our son likes slapstick so we all win. But... We don't like guns and don't let him play with pretend guns or play video games with guns, but there are some guns in this show (nothing worse than Star Wars Episode IV). We really appreciate that Chuck (main character) does not like guns either and never uses one (in later seasons he does have a tranquiler gun). He often tells the other characters to not shoot people. There is more sexual connotation in this show than anything else we have let our son watch. Almost all of it goes over his head but still there are some episodes we have skipped because he's not ready. The show has a lot of discussion about loyalty and caring for family members. That's nice. Putting other people's needs before your own is also a fairly common theme. If you like the idea of this show except for the sex and violence, you might like Psych. It's a similar humour but much less action, much less violence and very, very much less sex.
pkbos
pkbos Parent
February 1, 2016
age 11+

Tween boy popcorn favorite!

One of the few shows that our family loves watching together. Our boys, ages 11 & 13, love it so much they've started requesting popcorn! The action is Mission Impossible quality, which, combined with strong characters and relationships make for great family viewing episode after episode. As many have said, the only negative for us is the unrealistic portrayal of women (too beautiful, too comfy with sexual innuendo or implied encounters), but since my boys groan & cover their eyes any time characters kiss or girls are shown in their underwear, it is a good chance for discussion. The respect and concern that Chuck shows for his sister and partner/love interest also balances out the sexy stuff. Five seasons provides many evenings of TV fun! Enjoy!
See all 15 parent reviews

What's the Story?

When electronics-store employee CHUCK (Zachary Levi) opens a message from a spy whose dying act was to send him a trove of top-secret intelligence, every seemingly unrelated scrap of data about global espionage is subliminally implanted into his brain. But when the CIA and the NSA track the email to Chuck's inbox, they can't decide whether to take advantage of his newfound knowledge or try to scrub his mind clean. As Chuck slowly starts to connect the dots, his ability to spot dangerous plots as they unfold makes him an invaluable asset, and the government recruits him to join their war on terror.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (15 ):
Kids say (43 ):

Chuck is a completely improbable but highly entertaining romp through two worlds that rarely meet on TV: secret agents and high-tech nerds. And there's good reason to keep those worlds separate. After all, at first, Chuck's biggest concerns are playing video games and finding a date, preferably with his CIA handler, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), who eventually becomes his love interest. Meanwhile, Sarah has other things on her mind, including protecting the world and mourning her late boyfriend, the same spy who emailed the secret data to Chuck in the first place. But it's the contradictions between these two worlds that make Chuck a whole lot of fun.

Even though Chuck's spy life is obviously a farce, the interactions between Chuck and his tech-support pals ring true and are often quite funny, particularly his relationship with his best friend, Morgan (Joshua Gomez), who, if anything, is an even bigger nerd than Chuck is. Add in the element of "geek chic," and your kids will have plenty of reasons to pay attention in computer class.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about this show's distinctive style, particularly its uncommon blend of action and comedy. How do Chuck and the agents he interacts with compare to other spies you've seen on television and in the movies? Would the show be more or less enjoyable if the tone were entirely serious?

  • Do you think real-life spies are more like James Bond or more like Chuck, an average guy who tries to make sense of seemingly unconnected bits of data? Why do most movies and TV shows about espionage tend to romanticize life on the job?

  • How has Chuck's view of the world changed over time? Does the show paint the world as more or less of a dangerous place than it actually is?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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