Watchmen has a woke score of 98/100, which means it is heavily driven by woke themes. The 2019 HBO limited series continues the alternate-history world of the 1986 graphic novel. It follows Black police detective Angela Abar, known as Sister Night, as she investigates murders in Tulsa linked to a white supremacist group called the Seventh Kavalry. The story centers on the lasting impact of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, generational racial trauma, and Doctor Manhattan's return, with police forced to hide their identities after anti-cop attacks. Racism, white supremacy, and institutional racial injustice form the main focus, shown through Black protagonists, explicit dialogue about systemic problems, and story choices that tie heroism directly to Black ancestry and identity.

Is there DEI in Watchmen?

The biggest factors in our score are Institutional / cultural critique, Identity-driven story themes, Political / ideological dialogue. Set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, “Watchmen” embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own.

TV Show review

Watchmen

Woke Score

98/ 100

Lower is better

ActionDramaMysterySci-FiFantasyAdventureCrime

Release Date: October 20, 2019
Age Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: N/A

Breakdown

Factors & Ratings

These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Watchmen.

Representation / casting choices

Prominent Black lead Regina King as Sister Night and key supporting roles tied to racial ancestry; Hooded Justice race-swapped to Black for the trauma plot; heavy audience-visible emphasis on Black perspectives and identity in a story built around racial conflict.

65 / 100

Political / ideological dialogue

Frequent explicit discussions of systemic racism, police brutality, white supremacy, reparations, and generational injustice; characters debate these as central to American life and power structures.

70 / 100

Identity-driven story themes

Core narrative follows Black family legacy from the Tulsa massacre, trauma passed through generations, and Black heroism defined against white supremacists; ancestry and racial identity drive character arcs and plot twists.

75 / 100

Institutional / cultural critique

Strong modern framing of American institutions (police, history, law enforcement) as complicit in racial oppression and white supremacy; presents traditional power and vigilante justice through a lens of systemic racial failure rather than neutral conflict.

Watchmen

Factors & Ratings

Summary

Main Cast

Director & Crew