What Is Black Mirror Rated - And Is It Appropriate For Kids?

When it comes to pushing the envelope, few series are willing to go as far as "Black Mirror" does. Charlie Brooker's dystopian science fiction series doesn't just take technological wonders and weigh the good against the bad; it often goes above and beyond in the service of making its points.

If any episode made this absolutely clear, it was the series premiere, "The National Anthem." The episode follows the Prime Minister of England, Michael Callow (Rory Kinnear), as he's coerced by a kidnapper into copulating with a pig on live television. Though the threat of this looms throughout the episode, the fact that they go through with it, even if it's barely shown, is a huge indication of how dark and disturbing "Black Mirror" is willing to be right from the jump.

While the typical things parents worry about, like sexuality, violence, and coarse language, are regularly featured as well in the series, the fact that the Netflix series goes as far as it often does will make parents want to be especially careful with this one. With this in mind, "Black Mirror" is rated TV-MA (mature audiences only) and is definitely not appropriate for younger kids. In fact, many adults even find the series to be regularly disturbing or upsetting.

On the other hand, however, there are occasional episodes that might be worth allowing your teenager to watch. For instance, "San Junipero" and "Hang the DJ" are relatively tame and even sweet episodes of the anthology series that use technology to explore grief and love in profound ways. The Miley Cyrus-starring "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too" is also a reasonably appropriate episode that parents or guardians can use to test the waters with their teenagers.

Due to the fact that the tone, focus, and content of each episode tends to shift so dramatically, however, "Black Mirror" is a show that parents will likely want to vet heavily before they allow their kids to watch. According to Common Sense Media, the consensus from parents who have watched the series is that the show is only appropriate for those who are 16 years of age or older.

Though, again, there are episodes of "Black Mirror" that aren't too racy, violent, or shocking, parents might want to give pause when it comes to several others. Outings like "Striking Vipers" feature nuanced adult sexuality, while "Shut Up and Dance," "Crocodile," and "White Bear" all have references to murder or assault being done to children. These also make "Black Mirror" a very difficult recommendation for most younger viewers.