East of Eden

What’s it about?

Set across five decades, from the post-Civil War era to World War I, the story follows the Trask family in California's Salinas Valley – and the impact of mysterious Cathy Ames on their legacy.

The facts

• Created by Zoe Kazan
• Written by Zoe Kazan and Alexander Chee
• Directed by Garth Davis (Top of the Lake) and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
• Starring Florence Pugh (We Live in Time), Christopher Abbott (Wolf Man), Mike Faist (Challengers), Hoon Lee (Your Friends & Neighbours), Ciarán Hinds (Belfast), Martha Plimpton (Task), Tracey Letts (Little Women), Joseph Zada, and Joe Anders (Cape Fear)
• English language
• Runtime: Seven episodes that are around 60 minutes each
• An adaptation of the classic novel by John Steinbeck

Why did it get this rating?

This limited series was self-rated by Netflix. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Suicide

A character intentionally drinks an overdose of liquid morphine. We do not see them as they die, but later see their dead body.

Sex scenes

There are multiple sex scenes involving thrusting, vocalisations, and climaxing. We see bare breasts.

A naked man is tied to a chair on stage while a person taunts him in an act of mild BDSM. We cannot see his genitals.

Violence and family violence

The strongest violence includes:

• We see a character being severely beaten by her partner. We see her bloodied and swollen face, broken skull and broken arm resulting from this.
• We see child characters being beaten by their parents.

Content that may disturb

• A character murders their parents by burning them alive inside the family home.
• A character is shown trying to abort her pregnancy with a knitting needle, causing her to pass out from blood loss.
• We hear of the suicide of a character off-screen.
• Racial slurs are used and racist attitudes are shown towards Indigenous and Chinese peoples.
• A character implies they were groomed by an adult teacher when they were 14 years old.
• A character systematically poisons a person’s food and drink to make them painfully ill over a period of time, until they eventually die.

Helplines

The suicide and family violence themes could be upsetting for some viewers, especially for those who have gone through similar experiences. If you are struggling with what you have seen on screen, please reach out for help. If you or someone you know needs to talk:

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?