Animation
Good Times
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
At 48 years old, Simone Clark might be the oldest rookie in the FBI, but she’s also the most passionate.
After helping Special Agent Matt Garza catch a terrorist, she quit her job as a guidance counselor and decided to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an FBI agent herself.
Only, now that she’s there, Simone realizes she still has a lot to prove.
On her first day, she gets shunted off to do background checks instead of joining Garza’s newly founded fast-response Special Investigative Unit.
Garza may have appreciated her help on that early case, but according to him, Simone is “a torpedo looking for a target.” And he can’t afford for that target to be his unit—especially since his own boss has informed him that if his team makes any mistakes, she’ll shut it down without question.
But Simone isn’t deterred. She’s had to prove herself her whole life. And she’s not afraid of stepping on some federal toes to show her mettle.
The Rookie: Feds is a spin-off of The Rookie, ABC’s crime drama about a man in his mid-40s who joined the Los Angeles Police Department. And outside the ages of the two shows’ protagonists, it’s pretty much your typical crime procedural.
Agents and criminals exchange gunfire and occasionally get close enough for fisticuffs. And we see a decent amount of blood as several people are killed by the bad guys.
Language doesn’t get too rough, but we still hear some misuses of God’s name and a few uses of “a–,” “d–n” and “h—.”
The show also touches on some social issues. Simone’s dad worries that having a cop living in his home will hurt the work he’s doing in the community. (He accepted a settlement from the LAPD for an incident in which he was mistreated and used the money to help other folks get out of sticky situations.) And we hear about discrimination Simone has faced as a Black woman.
As of the first episode, there’s been no graphic sexual content (and since this is a network show, we’re likely not going to see anything too extreme), but people are definitely talking about it (and likely having it offscreen). One agent, a former actor, is objectified by men and women alike since his most famous role required him to remove his shirt frequently. Garza’s niece, who also works for the FBI, is gay. Another agent reportedly had a breakdown after catching her fiancé cheating on her with her best friend. And a woman manipulates her subordinate’s divorce (he and his wife are trying to work things out) to get information on Garza’s team.
After a rough first day on the job, Simone breaks protocol to get the job she wants in the FBI.
A man is beaten (we see his bruised and bloody face), and later we see his corpse and hear he was shot. Another man is stabbed in the neck, and his body is later found by the FBI. Agents exchange gunfire with criminals (one of the bad guys gets shot, but he’s OK). Some bad guys shoot and kill several firemen. Someone is knocked unconscious. Two people narrowly escape a bomb. A man tries to hit several people with a baseball bat before someone disarms him and tackles him to the ground. Another man is tackled while trying to flee a crime scene. Simone scratches a guy to get his DNA as he flees. Someone threatens to kill a man’s family. We hear Simone helped catch a terrorist.
Women wear cleavage-baring tops. We see a man’s underwear when his pants rip (and later, he dons a pair of sweatpants with the word “fierce” on the rear end). People talk about sexual opportunities. A girl states she is gay. Several people objectify a former actor. We hear about a few divorces (and hear one couple is trying to work through their differences).
A man says getting covered in fake blood for an acting job gave him PTSD, but a behavioral analyst explains it’s actually just an aversion to blood since there was no real trauma involved. Someone gags and nearly vomits.
Simone comments on the discrimination she’s faced as a Black woman. Her dad worries that having a cop living in his house will hurt his trust with people in their community—and not take their legal problems to him. (Simone reassures him that she’s trying to make positive changes in the police force and FBI.)
We hear about a variety of crimes. People lie and are occasionally condescending. A woman blackmails her subordinate. Simone breaks the rules several times to get the results she wants (though she eventually backs down and tries to be more of a team player).
We hear several abuses of God’s name, as well as “a–,” “d–n” and “h—.”
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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