Animation
Good Times
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
Most superheroes hide their true identities to keep their friends and families safe. Team Zenko does it because they want people to believe the world is a nicer place.
In Japanese mythology, the Zenko are helpful celestial foxes associated with the god Inari. They’re said to do good deeds for others (though this mythology isn’t addressed in the show, which simply translates the word Zenko as “good deeds”). Team Zenko tries to emulate those foxes by sneaking around and doing good deeds for every citizen in Harmony Harbor.
You won’t find Team Zenko beating up criminals or saving the world from its 12th Marvel-certified, world-ending event of the year. Instead, they’re watering flowers while owners are away, delivering packages when the delivery truck breaks down and helping people find lost items.
Why do they do it all from the shadows with no recognition? “The best Zenkos are the ones nobody knows,” we’re told. According to their philosophy, good deeds make the world a nicer place. And if people think the world is a nicer place, then they will also become nicer people—and in turn, they’ll also make the world better.
Team Zenko Go teaches its preschool audience good lessons about teamwork and being helpful. As Team Zenko’s mentor says, they don’t do good deeds for recognition, fame or reward—they do it “because it’s the right thing to do.” That’s a good lesson for kids to see in action: We should strive to do good for the sake of goodness, not because we desire a reward for our work.
Some mild slapstick violence and a pinch of toilet humor turn up. We also catch a glimpse of what seems to be a same-sex couple, two women holding hands. But it’s all ultimately in the pursuit of helping others without expecting or desiring recognition.
After Ari deduces Team Zenko’s superhero secret, he wants to join the team. However, he’ll need to learn what it looks like to work with other people. Ari is hit by a foam projectile. Ari accidentally trips the rest of Team Zenko. Two women are seen holding hands.
Team Zenko works to keep a boy clean for picture day, and they also help another boy feel more confident for his upcoming math test.
A dog tosses trash around. A woman is splashed with soda. Team Zenko is covered in mud by a passing car.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
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