The rating is a guess, not a guarantee. Two shows can carry the same TV-14 label and have almost nothing in common content-wise. However, VidAngel helps you to know what’s actually in something before it plays and allows you to skip what you don’t want to see or hear.

Don’t just take our word; here’s what the data looks like across 14 popular TV-14 shows:

F-Words in TV-14 Shows

Same rating. Very different language.

The Summer I Turned Pretty averages 11 f-words per episode. Meanwhile, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before has zero. Both are teen romances rated TV-14.

TV-14 Nudity Counts

Some of these will surprise you.

*79 nudity instances in Stranger Things — though to be fair, most are “creature buttocks.” Still, why is there any nudity?

TV-14 Sexual Content Counts

This is where the range gets hardest to ignore.

Friday Night Lights carries 218 instances of sexual content, including sex with brief nudity on screen. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before however, has just 6. Yet both are rated TV-14.

The Rating Tells You the Category. VidAngel Tells You the Content.

A TV-14 label means the show was reviewed and placed in a bucket. However, it doesn’t tell you whether you’re looking at 0 f-words or 284. Sexual content showing up once or 218 times? The rating won’t tell you that either. And it definitely doesn’t give you any control over what your family actually sees.

That’s what VidAngel is for.

You pick what you don’t want to see or hear—language, nudity, sexual content, and violence—and VidAngel automatically filters out those moments as you watch. The episode keeps playing. You just decide what stays in it.

No pre-screening and no need for hovering of the remote anymore. Just confident, informed, genuinely enjoyable movie nights.

Ready to get started?

Here’s how to get started with VidAngel:

1. Sign up for VidAngel
2. Set your default filters based on what you typically want to skip
3. Customize for each show depending on who’s watching
4. Press play and actually enjoy movie night

New to VidAngel? Learn how VidAngel filtering works

The post What Does TV-14 Actually Mean? appeared first on VidAngel Blog.

You’re scrolling through streaming options, and something catches your eye. But before you hit play, the real question hits: Is this actually appropriate for my family? What about just for me?

Welcome to the modern streaming dilemma. You’ve got more content than you could watch in three lifetimes, but somehow picking something to watch tonight feels like defusing a bomb.

The Traditional “Is This OK to Watch?” Checklist

Most folks follow the same routine:

✓ Check the rating
✓ Read a parent guide (or three)
✓ Look up the themes and “content warnings”
✓ Cross your fingers

Then you settle in to watch—thumb hovering over the remote like you’ve just been promoted to Chief Quality Control Officer of your own living room.

The Problem with Movie and TV Ratings

Here’s the thing: even when you do all the homework, you’re still basically guessing.

TV-14 could have zero F-words (Stranger Things season 1) or 40 F-words (The Summer I Turned Pretty season 1). Same rating. Wildly different content.

An R rating could mean “some intense themes” or it could mean wall-to-wall profanity that would make a sailor blush.

And those parent guides? They’re written for everyone. What five random internet strangers consider “mild sexual content” might be your “When did Grandma get here?!” You won’t know until you’re already watching—and by then, it’s too late.

So you end up watching nervously, ready to bail at the first unexpected “Well that escalated quickly” moment, instead of actually enjoying what you’re watching.

A Better Way to Decide What to Watch

What if you didn’t have to guess?

VidAngel flips the entire process. Instead of researching what might be in a show and hoping for the best, you get to see exactly what’s there—and then decide what stays and what goes.

No more guesswork. No more remote-hovering. Just informed decisions based on your preferences, your mood, and who’s in the room with you.

Real Example: How to Decide If Steal Is Right for You

Let’s look at a real show: Steal Season 1

The premise: A typical day at Lochmill Capital is upended when armed thieves burst in and force Zara and her best friend Luke to execute their demands. In the aftermath, conflicted detective Rhys races against time to find out who stole £4 billion pounds of people’s pensions and why.

Sounds exciting and intense. But is it appropriate for you? Let’s compare approaches.

Traditional Approach:

✓ Step 1: Check the rating: TV-MA
Okay, so… mature audiences. That could mean anything.

✓ Step 2: Read a parents guide:

• 5 of 16 found sex & nudity “mild”
• 4 of 6 found violence “severe”
• 3 of 6 found profanity “severe”

Wait—do you trust those 5 of 16 people’s opinions on what “mild” sexual content looks like?
Because we sure don’t.

✓ Step 3: Make your best guess: “Maybe fine for me but not the teens?”

✓ Step 4: Press play and hope you guessed right

The VidAngel Approach:

Know exactly what’s in the show before you watch:

Total filters available: 331 (avg. 55 per episode)

• 133 F-words (not “some profanity”—133 specific instances)
• 24 instances of blasphemy
• 3 instances of sex and nudity (with basic descriptions)
• 89 instances of violence/blood/gore (categorized with descriptions)
• and more

Now you can make an informed decision.

Skip what you don’t want to see or hear. Press play.

The Real Difference

Here’s what it comes down to:

Traditional approach: Vague warnings + strangers’ opinions + your best guess + crossed fingers = watching nervously with your thumb on the remote

VidAngel approach: Exact data + your preferences + your control = actually enjoying what you watch

With VidAngel, you’re not just deciding if something is right for you. You’re deciding how you want to watch it.

• Want the suspense of Steal without the F-words? Done.
• Okay with some violence but not the graphic stuff? Your call.
• Different standards for date night vs. family movie night? Adjust as needed.

Stop guessing. Start watching—on your terms.

Ready to Stop Guessing?

Here’s how to get started with VidAngel:

1. Sign up for VidAngel
2. Set your default filters based on what you typically want to skip
3. Customize for each show depending on who’s watching
4. Press play and actually enjoy movie night

New to VidAngel? Learn how VidAngel filtering works

The post How to Decide If a Show Is Appropriate appeared first on VidAngel Blog.

Can you trust TV and movie ratings? Frankly, probably not. Do you happen to know the actual difference between TV-MA and TV-14? Do you know what it takes for a series to be considered TV-MA? Or what’s the difference between PG-13 and PG? What type of content turns a PG-13 movie into a rated-R movie? Do you know what movies are rated PG?

According to the MPA (The Motion Picture Association), a PG-13 motion picture may exceed the PG rating in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, adult activities, or other elements but does not reach the restricted R category. Clear as mud. Rated-R movies, in the view of the board, contain some adult material like adult themes, hard language, and nudity. They heed this warning on their site about Rated-R films, “Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.”

Let’s try and tackle PG. PG means “parental guidance” advised, which the general public typically assumes this movie would be suitable for viewers of all ages. The MPA film rating site states, “May contain some material parents might not like for their young children.” What’s considered young? Your might-look-at-a-strawberry-never-touches-a-veggie six-year-old or your eager-to-grow-up pre-teen?

We did a quick inventory of what shows are rated PG on VidAngel. Grease, Footloose, Top Gun, and The Great Outdoors, just to name a few. Classics. That’s right, Grease, with that iconic song about “Summer Loving,” is right up your ten-year-old’s alley. Or how about the 65 counts of profanity in Footloose, including an F-bomb. Perfect for family movie night. No? Or the 92 counts of profanity from Top Gun. Or as a parent realizing your 8-year-old is watching a couple in bed together… oopsies. That might be suitable for some ages but maybe not all ages.

By nature, the ratings are too ambiguous. There are thousands of movies and TV shows that are being placed into a handful of buckets, making it impossible to have someone else’s standards for what is or isn’t appropriate for your family to perfectly align with yours. With VidAngel, you don’t need to put your trust in a group of strangers outside your home when it comes to your movies and TV shows. You can decide what is and is not appropriate for your children.

The post FAQ: Can you trust TV and movie ratings? appeared first on VidAngel Blog.