The Keepers: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated TV-MA.
A powerful but harrowing true-crime docuseries for older teens and adults. Former students investigate the unsolved 1969 murder of a Baltimore nun and uncover allegations that a priest at their Catholic girls' school sexually abused students. Over seven episodes, survivors describe rape and abuse they suffered as teens in explicit verbal detail, and one recalls being shown a dead body as a warning to stay silent. Nothing sexual or gory is shown and swearing is limited, but the sustained focus on child sexual abuse is why we suggest 16.
What's in it
Violence
StrongSexual violence is the core subject: survivors describe being raped and abused as teenagers by a priest and other men. The two 1969 murders are not reenacted but are discussed in detail, including a brother identifying his sister's body.
Language
ModerateMostly mild words like damn, hell and son of a bitch. The UK classifier flagged strong language, which usually means the f-word, in the final episode.
Sex and nudity
ModerateNothing sexual or nude is shown. Survivors' accounts of the abuse include explicit sexual references, which the UK classifier called strong in one episode.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
MildVery little. An adult has a glass of wine at a bar, and no drug use is shown.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongDisturbing throughout. Ominous music and horror-style shots build dread, survivors recount abuse and threats, one remembers being taken to see a body, and the sense of an institutional cover-up adds to the distress.
Sensitive topics
- Sexual assault
- Child abuse
Worth talking about
The survivors were disbelieved for decades. Talk about why abuse so often goes unreported, and which trusted adults a teen could tell if something felt wrong.
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, bbfc.co.uk, Wikipedia, netflix.com, Rotten Tomatoes. 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.