Is Firefly Lane Kid Friendly? Parents Guide

Wondering if Firefly Lane on Netflix is ok for kids? Firefly Lane is rated TV-MA for language, nudity, and sexual violence. Fans of the books will notice many changes from the Netflix series. Here’s what parents need to know in this Firefly Lane Parents Guide.

Firefly Lane Parents Guide on Netflix

Firefly Lane follows two best friends, Tully (Katherine Heigl) and Kate (Sarah Chalke) who met when they were in high school. Their friendship continues into their adult years as Tully becomes famous and Kate is always there to pick up the pieces…until now. The 10-episode show follows their careers, ups and downs, laughter, families, and tragedy. 

Why is Firefly Lane rated TV-MA? Parents should know that there is a rape scene, many sexual encounters involving some nudity (though not as steamy as Bridgerton), strong language, and drug use. 

Some have compared Firefly Lane to Sweet Magnolias and Virgin River, but those felt more like shows you could watch with your teenage daughter. This one does not. 

Language

There is a lot of profanity in Firefly Lane including many uses of sh–, bit-h, a–, bullsh–, g-ddamn, and uses of Deity like g-d and Christ. Sexual words like di-k, penis, and tits are also used.

Mature Content

Perhaps the worst scene is when a teenage girl is raped. She repeatedly asks the boy to stop and he doesn’t. She flashes back to the scene throughout the show. Later the boy tells her she can’t lead a guy on like that and just go cold. 

There are many graphic sex scenes including some with nudity. You see bare behinds, plenty of skin, and some side boob. No full frontal. There are characters shown in bra and underwear.

There is discussion of a character coming out as gay, two teenage boys kiss, and later marry women.

Many characters smoke, drink alcohol and use drugs (cocaine and marijuana) including teenagers.

There are flashbacks to war scenes and a death.

A character burns a man with a spatula. 

There is a robbery at a convenience store with a gun and the suspect shoots someone.

One of the main characters deals with a terrible childhood including abandonment.

A character talks about going on birth control pills in the 8th grade. 

Characters have affairs.

Is Firefly Lane Appropriate for Kids Under 16?

Some teens may want to watch Firefly Lane on Netflix if they have read the books by Kristin Hannah. I would not recommend Firefly Lane for kids or teens mostly due to some of the graphic sexual scenes, and it has an overall depressing tone. 

Life certainly isn’t perfect for Tully and Kate, and their relationship and friendship is complicated. It felt like another sweet friend tries to save messed up friend story. Firefly Lane, the series, deviates from Firefly Lane, the book, and that didn’t do it any favors. So if you’ve read the books, you won’t know what’s going to happen in the Netflix show. 

The back and forth with the flashbacks was distracting. Sometimes I just wanted continuity. It felt like each life event was just that, another life event. Were they supposed to mean something to the audience? I never felt the connection. The scenes with the girls as teenagers were more interesting than when they were adults. 

Firefly Lane was just sad and boring, which is a shame, because the star power is there. I appreciate them trying to tackle difficult discussions like rape, war, and objectification of women, but Firefly Lane just didn’t work. Sweet Magnolias is a much better watch. Now that friendship I believed. 

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