Parents' Guide to

The Good Lord Bird

By Martin Brown, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Powerful Civil War-era comedy-drama has violence, racism.

TV Showtime Drama 2020
The Good Lord Bird Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

  • The Good Lord Bird TV Show: John Brown (Ethan Hawke) gives his young friend (Joshua Caleb Johnson) a good luck feather
  • The Good Lord Bird TV Show: John Brown (Ethan Hawke) meets a rabbit
  • The Good Lord Bird TV Show: Daveed Diggs as Frederick Douglass

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 1 parent review

Sam M.
Sam M. Parent of 2-year-old
October 20, 2021
age 14+

Good Lord this is good!

Excellent characters, performances (Hawkes best ever imo) writing, humor, thrills, and commentary. Its all here and its nails it all. There are a few moments of gore in the first 2 and last episodes (most notably a decapitation and a scene involving a canon) among classical western violence. Episodes 3-5 are almost completely void of adult content overall. There is also historical racism, but otherwise there isnt gratuitous/anachronistic profane or sexual content like most premium cable.
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Based on the 2013 novel of the same name, THE GOOD LORD BIRD is a fictional version of the abolitionist crusade of John Brown and the events leading up to the 1859 raid on Harper's Ferry that preceded the Civil War. Young Henry Shackleford (Joshua Caleb Johnson) loses his father in a violent skirmish between Brown (Ethan Hawke) and the pro-slavery Dutch Henry (David Morse). Mistaken for a young girl, Henry -- now Henrietta -- joins the small abolitionist army led by Brown and his four sons.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (2 ):

Turning a key player in pre-Civil War America into a comic figure is obviously a dicey proposition. Yet The Good Lord Bird does just that, and without losing any of the gravity of the event's historical context. Ethan Hawke's John Brown is a loose cannon prone to violent outbursts and mangled bible verses, but The Good Lord Bird uses him as an entry point to understanding the Northern-Southern conflict. This darkly comic take of the seminal raid on Harpers Ferry gives viewers a modern, enlightened pesrpective and shows how the fight for change can be messy and righteous at the same time.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about John Brown. What did you know about the abolitionist John Brown before watching the show? How does The Good Lord Bird's Brown compare to the real life Brown?

  • What is Brown fighting for? How does he go about trying to reach his goal? Do you think his methods are justified by his cause?

  • Why would someone make a comedy about slavery? What does the audience experience when watching The Good Lord Bird that would be different from a typical Civil War-era drama? Does the show's tone make you view history from a different perspective? How so?

TV Details

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