The Peripheral parents guide
By WiC Staff
The Peripheral is a new science fiction drama on Amazon Prime Video, and if you’re reading this, you may be wondering what exactly is in store for you or your kids if you choose to watch it. The show is based on the 2014 science fiction novel by William Gibson, one of the pioneers of the cyberpunk subgenre. It’s a deeply thoughtful tale that hits hard with its themes, ideas, and action.
But is it appropriate for kids to watch? Let’s get into the details.
The Peripheral parents guide
Like the novel on which it’s based, The Peripheral hits viewers with a ton of fascinating science fiction concepts. Time travel, alternate realities, neural links for squads of soldiers and more. They’re presented extremely intentionally and lucidly, all things considered; the show isn’t hard to understand. It does, however, occasionally get rather gory, such as when one character receives an eye transplant. The gore is used sparingly, but when it does show up you can expect to squirm in your seat.
The Peripheral is quite clearly a show made for adults. Prime Video rates it as suitable for audiences age 16 and up, with “nudity, violence, substance use, alcohol use, smoking, foul language, and sexual content.” And yes, it has all those things. Drugs crop up on the show, smoking and drinking are commonplace, and foul language is used frequently. To date the series has aired three episodes, and the sexual content and nudity have not been exceptionally explicit thus far. They are present, but nowhere near the level of a show like Outlander or Game of Thrones.
The violence is pervasive, however. While no episode of The Peripheral is an outright blood bath, what violence there is can be brutal. The show does not glorify it, but it absolutely does not shy away from depicting it either.
All told, The Peripheral is a safe watch for people in their late teens and young adults, but for anyone younger than 16 you should screen the show yourself first to see how it lines up with your specific parenting standards.
The Peripheral airs new episodes Fridays on Prime Video.
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