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TV-14

The television programming that is rated TV-14 in the United States by the TV Parental Guidelines signifies content with parents strongly cautioned. It corresponds to the MPA's PG-13 rating for movies, and the ESRB's T rating for video games. Content may be unsuitable for children under 14 years of age and may contain intense violence, intense sexual references (including censored and/or partial nudity, medium to high-level implied scenes of sexual intercourse, and sexual innuendo), intensely suggestive dialogue, and strong language.

TV versions of the rating usually censor more content than streaming versions, such as strong language, some sexual content, and some stronger violence.

Unlike the TV-PG rating, many shows during prime time (on most networks) carry this rating. Most shows like on Fox, The CW, Game Show Network, Adult Swim, ABC, NBC, CBS, Disney Channel, Disney XD, and many more series receive this rating. However, it is censored on the TV Broadcast with bleeps and/or pixelization, depending on the show.

On Disney+, TV-14 is the most common rating for its Star Wars and Marvel original content.

List

  • As of May 8, 2024, there are over 493,200 TV-14 rated titles according to IMDb (the most common TV rating in the United States, above TV-PG). (list)

Content descriptors

  • D: Intensely Suggestive Dialogue
  • L: Strong Coarse Language
  • S: Intense Sexual Situations
  • V: Intense Violence

Ratings

Trivia

  • There are several companies or TV stations not subject to the FCC's rules that have broken the general implied rule that "crude indecent" language (ex. multiple F-bombs) is not allowed at the TV-14 rating. For example, two titles (Gintama: The Movie and the complete collection of the anime Another) released by Sentai Filmworks have multiple F-bombs. The movie We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists is broadcast uncensored on Pivot TV with a TV-14 rating despite its strong language. The El Rey Network originally issued an uncensored broadcast of the movie Pulp Fiction with a TV-14/R rating, but later apologized for this and changed the rating in future broadcasts to TV-MA/R. The Adult Swim series Rick and Morty contains over 600 uses of "f**k" and a few uses of "c**t", and there are only 6 episodes rated TV-MA out of the other 65, all rated TV-14.
  • In general, the F-bomb is rarer with the TV-14 rating than with the PG-13 rating. Apart from the above examples, Starz On Demand's print of the English dub of Black Magic M-66 contains a single F-bomb and was rated TV-14. The Netflix original series Stranger Things has a few uncensored F-bombs but under a TV-14 rating.
  • Many TV-14 rated shows contain depictions of nudity and/or violence that would most likely receive an R rating from the MPA. This is due to the laxer content guidelines as a result of TV networks being able to rate their own shows as opposed to having to adhere to a ratings board for movies as well as self-imposed content guidelines varying from station to station. The first few seasons of The Walking Dead, for example, were broadcast on AMC with a TV-14 rating. This was later changed to TV-MA after a parents organization lobbied to get its rating changed due to its objectionable content. Similarly, the Cowboy Bebop anime series is TV-14 while the animated film is R. Other examples: The Following, Hannibal, Van Helsing, Gotham, Mr. Robot, Scream Queens, 1000 Ways To Die, Jericho, Hell on Wheels, Supernatural, Dracula (2013).
    • Several such shows that were rated TV-14 on broadcast television were later changed to TV-MA when brought to Netflix.
  • Although the TV-14 rating suggests a program is technically for ages 14 and up, Netflix's notice implies 15 instead, as it states "Parents Strongly Cautioned. May not be suitable for ages 14 and under." However, this seems to be an error as they changed it to "Parents Strongly Cautioned. May not be suitable for children under 14."
  • While the TV-14 rating does suggest that a program is suitable for ages 14 and up, many TV-14 shows are not actually suitable for teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17. for example; Hannibal was TV-14. Since then, many programs rated this would be rated 18 by the BBFC (no one under 18), example: Hannibal.
  • In some cases, shows with mostly TV-14 episodes may be subject to a TV-MA blanket rating. While a blanket rating does not apply to an episode broadcast, it may apply to promo ratings and on-demand services. An example of this is China IL, Eagleheart, Lotier Squad and Royal Crackers, which have TV-MA-L and TV-MA-LSV ratings (The Jellies and Hot Streets) on the Adult Swim website and several promos while only 2 episodes have this rating.
TV Parental Guidelines rating system
TV-Y icon TV-Y7 icon TV-Y7-FV icon TV-G icon TV-PG icon TV-14 icon TV-MA icon
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