I’m a father of three, which means I stream an incredible amount of children and family shows. Not always because I want to, honestly, but because my kids kinda commandeer the remote. And, I must say, I’ve gotten pretty good over the years at redirecting my kids towards shows that appeal to the whole family, myself included. Not all kids and family programming is created equal when it comes to appealing to everyone, so when you find something that does, that can feel absolutely magical. I’ve put together a list of shows that both parents and kids have enjoyed in my household. I hope they’ll do the same for you and yours. 

Man Vs Bee

If you grew up in the ’90s, you know a thing or two about the awesomeness of Mr. Bean. To this day, I can’t fully understand how Mr. Bean can say absolutely nothing and still get me  laughing hysterically. The series stars none other than Rowan Atkinson (who does talk in this) as a professional house sitter battling a pesky bee in a wealthy family's home. The whole family laughed pretty hard at this show — and my wife and I kept shooting each other knowing glances, as we both saw hints of Mr. Bean in this hilarious family comedy. Once we finished it, we ended up watching Mr. Bean's Holiday, because why not — and that was also a tremendous hit for the whole family. 

Man Vs Bee

9 Episodes   TV-PG   2022

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Cobra Kai

It’s hard for me to explain just how incredibly over-the-top awesome The Karate Kid was in the 1980s. This is a bold statement, but I’ll bet that, between ’84 and ’87, 60% of kids were Daniel LaRusso for Halloween. That’s a lot to build on, and I think that’s what makes Cobra Kai so awesome, because it does not disappoint. The old cast returns, from heroes to villains, and there’s also charming, relatable teen drama alongside the karate fighting my kids get really jammed about. We all enjoyed watching this one together, and the fact that I get to watch a show about Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, two very important characters from my childhood, and have my kids absolutely love it, feels like I’m bridging the gap between my own childhood and that of my kids. And when the sixth and final season arrives, we’ll do it all over again.

Cobra Kai

6 Seasons   TV-14   2018

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Fuller House

When it came to family sitcoms in the early ’90s, few were bigger than Full House. Many kids raised at that time, myself included, longed to be part of the Tanner family. So, when a reboot with members of the original cast was announced, my wife and I jumped on it. The set-up for Fuller House mirrors the premise of the beloved series, as DJ accepts the help of family and old friends to take care of her children after the death of her husband. You can’t watch an episode of Fuller House and not collectively — children and adults — smile while also saying, “Awwww.” 

Fuller House

5 Seasons   TV-PG   2016

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Is It Cake?

When my kids insisted that I watch Is It Cake? and I read the premise online — “Contestants create cakes that replicate common objects in an effort to trick celebrity judges” — I scratched my head real hard. But then I watched it, and by the second episode, I found myself inching closer to the screen, glasses on, lips twisted to the side, trying to decide if what I was looking at was, in fact, cake. We all placed our bets, and after the big reveal, as the cake was cut (or not cut, because it wasn’t cake), we all laughed, or exclaimed “what?!” or just sat in total wonder, amazed by how that suitcase or bowling ball or whatever random object was actually cake. We engaged with each other as we watched both seasons of the show, and I loved every minute. 

Is It Cake?

3 Seasons   TV-PG   2022

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Floor Is Lava

We aren’t a sports family with a designated team we root for, so to see my kids on the edge of their seats as a group of fully grown adults navigate a Floor Is Lava situation is absolutely hilarious. But it was also an amazing way to spend 40 minutes as a family. We laughed, we held on tight and shouted suggestions through gritted teeth: “No, no, you need to climb the picture frames first!” “Are you kidding me? Don’t lean on the back of the recliner! It moves!” “Don’t jump on that box! You’ll fall inside it!” (As if we could have easily navigated that haunted attic of slippery and sticky obstacles ourselves.) We discussed how awesome it would be to actually compete on the show, lost in our reveries of victory. But, most importantly, we did all this together, shouting, debating and deeply involved in the show as a family.

Floor Is Lava

3 Seasons   TV-PG   2020

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Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series

Now I strategically place this sucker for all you Pokémon fanatics who grew up on the 2001 cartoon, played the card game and collected every cartridge for the Nintendo Gameboy or DS. Many of you are parents now, as am I, which means you can enjoy Pokémon Master Journeys with your kids. It’s a really fun show, naturally. It includes Ash and a number of new and old Pokémon, but the real reason this was a hit in my house is because it got my kids talking about Pokémon, and then it got us watching the throwback shows from when I was growing up, and anytime you can take a trip down memory lane with your kids, and they are actually interested, it’s pretty awesome.  

Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series

3 Parts   TV-Y7   2021

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Our Great National Parks

School is back in session, and I don’t want to speak for all families, but my kids are a little sluggish. Not in their bodies, necessarily. We’ve had a very active summer: Hiking, camping, the beach... It’s mostly in their minds because we haven’t been as awesome in the summer workbooks as we could have been. To get the brainwaves going again, we’ve been watching different documentaries, and Our Great National Parks was a huge hit. It’s visually stunning, it’s narrated by a former president, and it’s educational. The kids loved seeing all the animals, and my wife and I sat there adding national parks to our bucket list. It was a win-win. 

Our Great National Parks

Limited Series   TV-PG   2022

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Eden

This is one of those limited series that more people should be talking about. It’s an anime that takes place in a postapocalyptic world, where robots end up raising a human girl. Visually it’s amazing, but it also has a number of surprises. The robots have these quirky, charming personalities, and Sara Grace (the human raised by robots) starts adorable and becomes a bold and awesome character. My daughter suggested this show, and we all reluctantly agreed to watch it because we didn’t know what to expect. But by the end, all of us were pleasantly surprised. 

Eden

4 Episodes   TV-PG   2021

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Brainchild

On the insistence of my 8-year-old, we watched this show as a family. And there were groans. So many groans. But my goodness, it exceeded our expectations. Yes, this is educational, which is awesome. However, it’s not boring. I was honestly floored by how much my kids learned and retained from the show — everything from why we dream to the legitimacy of the five-second rule to the layers of the ocean. I’ve watched a lot of educational shows with my three kids over the years, and very few are as entertaining as Brainchild. But the real test was one afternoon, when I dropped a gummy bear, picked it up and said, “five-second rule.” My daughter actually grabbed my hand and said, “Daddy, germs don’t wait five seconds. That’s an urban myth.” Only she didn’t say “urban myth,” she said “auburn myth,” but the sincerity in her raised eyebrows and serious expression told me what she was really trying to say, and I couldn’t help but marvel at her use of applied Brainchild knowledge. 

Brainchild

13 Episodes   TV-G   2018

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Avatar: The Last Airbender

To say that my kids are obsessed with Avatar is an understatement. But the surprising truth is, I’ve been sucked in too. I’ve watched countless episodes with my kids and keep getting more and more drawn into the story of Aang as he learns to live under the pressure of his magical abilities as the only Avatar that can manipulate the four elements (water, earth, fire and air). Every time my kids say “can we watch Avatar?” I end up nodding my head. There’s also a second series based in the same world called The Legend of Korra, and it is equally as entertaining. (Plus, there’s a live-action Avatar in the works too.) 

Avatar: The Last Airbender

3 Seasons   TV-Y7   2005

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

If you grew up watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as I did, do yourself and your kids a favor and watch this 2012 animated series as a family. I knew about the pizza and the sewer. I knew about Splinter and Casey Jones, and I could still name all the turtles. My kids were shocked, and I ended up establishing instant street cred (or in this case, sewer cred) with them. But it also felt like I was revisiting my old childhood friends — Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael — discovering what they’re still up to, and channeling my inner kid. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

26 Episodes   TV-Y7   2012

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Great British Baking Show: Juniors

Confession: I’m not usually a fan of baking shows, Is It Cake? aside. But I do watch a lot of them with my wife, so I feel I can speak with authority here and say that The Great British Baking Show: Juniors is as fun and entertaining as any adult-focused baking show. It has judges, cooks freaking out, character development, time limits... everything that makes a cooking show fun. The only real difference here is that it has kids as the cooks rather than adults, and that subtle shift not only drew in my kiddos  but also allowed them to go through all the same emotions as the contestants, and in my living room, that made this show a lively way to spend the evening as a family. 

Great British Baking Show: Juniors

2 Seasons   TV-G   2021

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Carmen Sandiego

When my kids suggested that we watch the Carmen Sandiego animated series, I was all in. I loved the game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego when I was growing up. The series wound up being very different than I expected, but I ended up loving it. This is an animated action and adventure series, with twists and turns, and yet it’s still as educational as the original. If you’re familiar with the original game show, it seemed like we always learned what Carmen Sandiego did and where in the world she could be found, but the gumshoes never got the full details. The animated series acts out those details, and it’s just enough new and old to hook both parents and kids. 

Carmen Sandiego

4 Seasons   TV-Y7   2019

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A Series of Unfortunate Events

This show is as dark and quirky as the books on which it’s based, with the same logical leaps and absurd humor. As we watched, my kids were constantly shaking their heads, thinking, and then finally, it would come: the laughter as the joke finally hit home. Neil Patrick Harris is a near-perfect Count Olaf (as is Jim Carrey, who did an amazing job playing him in the 2004 movie version) and Patrick Warburton’s deep voice is exactly what I imagine Lemony Snicket should sound like. As a parent, I got to mention how the show differed from the books, which were a big deal when I was growing up, and ultimately ended up getting my kids to want to read the collection — as a father trying to encourage reading, this was not an unfortunate event at all.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

3 Seasons   TV-PG   2017

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