Why has the rating changed for the series that I’m watching?

We look at:

• The different scenarios
• What it means for viewers
• Series / Season / Episode and what we mean
• Who's rating at series level vs episode level
• How to stay safe out there

Ever started watching a show with your parents feeling comfortable knowing you’re watching M (for mature audiences 16 years and over) level content only to be blindsided the following week with some raunchy sex scene that takes it into Restricted territory? Awkward right? How does this happen and who is making these rating decisions?

If you’re watching many TV series these days you’re already aware that a lot of popular streaming services will drop entire seasons in one go, ready for you to binge-watch. And then there’s the highly anticipated shows that are drip-fed to us, an episode a week, building tension and likely building off the back of strong word of mouth and promotion.

Major streaming platforms operating in NZ must show either NZ classifications and ratings or a self-rating label. That's the small symbol that appears on screen after you press play, with for example a black M in a yellow circle, or a 13 in a red square, with content warnings alongside.

Many of the providers will self-rate at season-level; they will determine the appropriate rating for all of the episodes in a season and generate an on-screen label and content warnings to reflect all of the content that you may see across the season. This is the rating information you will see on screen before each episode screens.

A few of the providers will rate each episode, putting a new on-screen label on each episode that you will see when you press play. Reasons for this differ between providers but sometimes this is because not all episodes are available initially at the time of rating. This means the rating and content warnings may differ each time you press play on an episode.

Some providers have landing pages for the series which may show the highest age rating and combination of content warnings to summarise the entire show. For example The White Lotus which is now three seasons in, has a landing page for all three seasons and has a combined age rating of 16 with content warnings for drug use, offensive language, sex scenes, violence, content that may disturb, nudity, sexual themes, suicide themes, drug references.

When season three of The White Lotus started dropping the age rating was lower at 13 than the earlier two seasons. Each episode would show this age rating (and content warnings) appropriate for what had been released so far from season three. By episode three this age rating had changed from 13 to 16 and the content warnings had increased to include drug use, sex scenes and suicide themes.

This can be tricky for viewers as episodes get stronger in content as the season progresses. So how do you stay safe out there?

Be informed. Read the label and content warnings at the start of the episode. Press pause and seek out our featured decision information. We offer content breakdowns for popular shows so that viewers can be informed before they keep watching.

Wait for the full season to be released before you press play. FOMO is real, but also trauma triggers can be really upsetting. And we don’t want young brains seeing difficult content before they’re ready. We know from audience feedback that New Zealanders don’t like to be surprised by graphic violence, suicide themes, and domestic violence for example. Content warnings give you a heads up if these themes are going to be seen on-screen so you can make an informed decision for you and your whānau.

Season, series or episode? There are a few different terms to be aware of when considering your entertainment. Stick with us.

When we’re talking about a season that means all the episodes within that show’s seasonal release.

A series means either the overarching show (aka the series Lost which has six seasons) or a limited series such as a true crime documentary that is has a small number of episodes.

Episode level is each individual episode story that is released within a show or series. Aka, The Simpsons (at the time of writing) has 36 seasons, and each season has between 22-25 episodes.

Currently streaming providers take a flexible approach to rating shows depending on availability of content before release, as well as whether it is original content produced by that provider or it is produced by a third party. Generally speaking, Netflix, Disney+, and Crunchyroll self-rate at the season level, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ self-rate at the episode level, and Neon self-rates at both the season and episode level depending on the content.

Further Reading

What we classify: Streaming content

Streaming platforms, R-ratings and tricky conversations (blog)

Why parental controls are your video on-demand life hack (blog)