🍿FindToWatch
Series · Drama · 2014 · TV-14

Halt and Catch Fire: parents' guide

14+our pick

Best for ages 14 and up. Rated TV-14.

A smart, adult period drama best suited to older teens who love tech history. Across four seasons it follows rival innovators through the 1980s and early '90s computer and internet booms, and its trouble spots are grown-up rather than graphic: sex scenes without explicit nudity, constant drinking, cocaine and other drugs at work and parties, and harsh language with occasional slurs. A supporting character dies by suicide, a main character dies of illness and leaves teenage children behind, and a parent's brain damage runs through several seasons. Those heavy themes, more than any single scene, put it at 14.

What's in it

Violence

Moderate

Occasional fistfights leave characters bruised and bloodied, police beat a man during a traffic stop, and shotguns appear. A close-up shows a sliced hand, someone is electrocuted in a storm, a car runs over an armadillo, and a bird and a cow are killed off-screen.

Language

Moderate

Frequent s-words, plus 'bitch,' 'asshole' and God's name as an exclamation. Characters occasionally throw racial slurs and an anti-gay slur as insults. Reviewers do not list f-words.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

Several adult sex scenes imply nudity, showing bare shoulders and men's torsos plus brief male nudity from behind. A business meeting happens at a strip club, affairs drive plots, and one storyline involves an abortion. A 14-year-old girl stumbles onto porn sites; nothing is shown.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

Strong

Characters drink constantly and smoke cigarettes and cigars. Less often they smoke pot, take ecstasy and mushrooms, and snort cocaine at work and at parties. One character's cocaine use feeds into a serious health crisis, though consequences are rarely the focus.

Scary or intense scenes

Moderate

No horror, but real emotional weight: a supporting character dies by suicide in season 3, a main character dies off-screen in season 4 followed by grieving scenes, and a father's brain damage is a recurring storyline. One adult has a heart attack.

Sensitive topics

  • Suicide
  • Death of a parent
  • Animal death

Worth talking about

The show's brilliant characters often hurt the people closest to them in pursuit of an idea. Talk about what ambition is worth, and how the women in the story are underestimated at work.

Where to stream →

On our lists

Similar picks around 14+

13+ The Fault in Our StarsMovie · Romance, drama · 2014 · PG-13 Violence: mild, Language: moderate, Sex and nudity: moderate, Drinking, drugs and smoking: moderate, Scary or intense scenes: moderate 13+ CreedMovie · Sports, drama · 2015 · PG-13 Violence: moderate, Language: moderate, Sex and nudity: moderate, Drinking, drugs and smoking: mild, Scary or intense scenes: mild 13+ LionMovie · Drama · 2016 · PG-13 Violence: mild, Language: moderate, Sex and nudity: moderate, Drinking, drugs and smoking: moderate, Scary or intense scenes: moderate 15+ The Perks of Being a WallflowerMovie · Drama · 2012 · PG-13 Violence: strong, Language: moderate, Sex and nudity: moderate, Drinking, drugs and smoking: strong, Scary or intense scenes: moderate 13+ The Hate U GiveMovie · Drama · 2018 · PG-13 Violence: moderate, Language: moderate, Sex and nudity: mild, Drinking, drugs and smoking: moderate, Scary or intense scenes: moderate 13+ Avengers: EndgameMovie · Superhero, action · 2019 · PG-13 Violence: moderate, Language: moderate, Sex and nudity: mild, Drinking, drugs and smoking: moderate, Scary or intense scenes: moderate

Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Wikipedia, ageratingjuju.com. 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.