What does TV-14 actually mean? Honestly, it’s pretty vague. According to Spectrum’s TV ratings guide, TV-14 is officially intended for children ages 14 and older, and it “possibly contains intensely suggestive dialogue, strong coarse language, intense sexual situations, or intense violence.” That’s the actual definition. And it raises a fair question: do you think a 14-year-old should be viewing “intense sexual situations” or hearing “strong coarse language?”
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.
| TV Show | Sexual Content Instances |
|---|---|
| To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before | 6 |
| Friday Night Lights (2006) | 218 |
| Stranger Things | 41 |
| The Summer I Turned Pretty | 108 |
| Outer Banks | 26 |
| Cobra Kai | 46 |
| Wednesday | 15 |
| My Life with the Walter Boys | 40 |
| Ginny & Georgia | 161 |
| Locke & Key | 11 |
| Never Have I Ever | 70 |
| Shadow and Bone | 32 |
| XO, Kitty | 56 |
| The Kissing Booth | 32 |
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:
- Sign up for VidAngel
- Set your default filters based on what you typically want to skip
- Customize for each show depending on who’s watching
- Press play and actually enjoy movie night
New to VidAngel? Learn how VidAngel filtering works
