Forever (2025): parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated TV-MA.
A warm but very frank first-love drama, adapted from Judy Blume's novel and set among Black teens in Los Angeles, made for older teens. Its candor is the point: teens talk openly about consent and protection, and sex scenes show partial nudity, with implied masturbation and porn viewing too. One teen is still recovering from an ex leaking her sex video, and later another private video is shared without consent. Swearing is heavy, with more than a dozen f-words in the premiere alone. Teens drink and occasionally smoke marijuana. Violence is minimal, but the emotional fallout of the leaks is significant.
What's in it
Violence
MildVery little: pushing, shoving, a girl yanking a classmate's hair, and name-calling. Parents voice fears about police shootings and racism, but no serious violence is shown.
Language
StrongHeavy swearing. One count found more than a dozen f-words and as many s-words in the first episode, plus bitch, dick, ass and a crude word for female genitals, with song lyrics adding more.
Sex and nudity
StrongSex scenes between teen characters, played by adults, show partial nudity that at times reveals intimate areas. There is groping in a movie theater, implied masturbation, a teen watching porn, and open conversations about consent and protection.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateTeens drink at parties and now and then smoke marijuana, and a girl says she wants an edible for cramps. Adults drink wine with meals and some smoke cigarettes.
Scary or intense scenes
MildNot scary, but a girl's sex video leaked by an ex, and another intimate video shared without consent, cause real anxiety, shame and harassment that the show takes seriously.
Sensitive topics
- Bullying
Worth talking about
Justin and Keisha talk openly about consent and readiness, and the show contrasts that with the harm done when private videos are shared. Does agreeing to be filmed mean agreeing to have it shared?
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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, Wikipedia. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.