What is the age rating for His Dark Materials?

HBO’s fantasy series His Dark Materials is heading into its third and final season on HBO; it’ll be along some time this year, although we don’t know exactly when. Is the show appropriate to watch for younger people?

His Dark Materials is the story of two kids — Lyra and Will — who are from different worlds. They get caught up in an inter-dimensional adventure that sees them dealing with a global universe-spanning conspiracy involving mysterious particles known as Dust. The books by Philip Pullman have some anti-religious themes that made them a hot topic when they were coming out, although the story itself doesn’t have anything hugely objectionable. There’s some violence (including fights involving talking polar bears) but nothing too gruesome; we’re a million miles from an HBO show like Game of Thrones here.

There are also some dark themes, as Lyra is pitting against her conniving partings as she tries to untangle the conspiracy. According to HBO’s website, the show is rated TV-14, which means it’s okay to watch for kids 14 and older. Personally, I think kids a bit younger than that could handle, but to each parent their own.

His Dark Materials rating age

As for Pullman’s books, the third and final one — The Amber Spyglass — it’s appropriate for kids in grades 5-12, according to DOGOBooks. It gets that score for both its interest level, which relates to the maturity of themes; and it’s reading level, which is about how difficult it is to read.

Whether you watch His Dark Materials on TV or read in on the page, it’s a pretty good story, so either way you’ll be alright.

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