TV Show review
Review basis: 5 seasons, 88 episodes · through March 5, 2024
January 8, 2019 · 42 min · TV-14 · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Good Trouble is a Freeform drama and spin-off of The Fosters. It follows adopted sisters Callie and Mariana after they move into a communal living space called The Coterie in downtown Los Angeles and start their adult careers in law and tech. The series follows an ensemble of young adults navigating jobs, romances, friendships, and activism while repeatedly addressing social issues. Prominent elements include Black Lives Matter protests and legal fights, workplace gender pay equity campaigns, recurring sexism and racism storylines, and multiple central queer identity, coming-out, and relationship arcs across all five seasons.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Good Trouble.
Woke representation / casting
Prominent ensemble roles for Black activist Malika, queer Asian-American Alice, bisexual Latino Gael, and other diverse characters. Storylines and marketing emphasize identity, queerness, and competence in activist or professional contexts. Queer elements receive heavy focus and screen time across seasons.
Woke political dialogue
Characters frequently debate and act on BLM protests, police brutality, gender pay equity, workplace sexism, racism, and activism. Dialogue and plots treat these as central rather than background.
Identity-driven story themes
Core narrative centers chosen family, standing up via activism, queer coming-out and relationships, pay equity fights, and identity conflicts in work and personal life. The "good trouble" framing ties directly to social justice action.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Police and justice system portrayed through BLM arrests, protests, and trials. Tech workplace shown with systemic misogyny and bro culture. Conservative judge serves as recurring foil to progressive leads. Traditional norms around family, gender, and authority are challenged through activist lenses.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Viewers on Reddit and in some reviews specifically call out excessive one-sided woke topics, pandering social justice angles, and negative framing of conservatives or certain demographics. Complaints focus on identity politics and activism messaging rather than general politics.
Creator track record context
Peter Paige and co-creators Bradley Bredeweg and Joanna Johnson built The Fosters around interracial lesbian parents and ongoing social issues. Their repeated work centers queer acceptance, diverse families, and activist storytelling as explicit goals.
Production
