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Barbershop

Mediocre

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 3

Stimulating

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Paramount +

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Barbershop

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This program is stimulating. It actively demands attention and can feel intense. For the recommended age, this may be on the more intense side. The pacing is calm. A child has time to watch and understand what is happening. The sound is intense and continuously present. The visuals are calm and well-organized.

The episode follows one clear goal from start to finish, helping Shane get his haircut, with a recognisable beginning, middle and end. What makes it harder to follow is how much happens inside each scene and how often the story leaps into surreal side worlds, like a room full of hair or singing hairbrushes, before returning to the main thread. Cause and effect is sometimes clear, for example sitting in the barber's chair leads to the haircut, but many events follow dream logic rather than a step a young child can predict. The single storyline is a real strength, while the amount of information packed into each moment is the main thing holding this pillar back.

The relationship at the heart of the episode is kind. David patiently supports his nervous brother, names the feeling out loud ('apprehensive means nervous'), and offers a comfort blanket called Bob to help Shane feel braver, and the visit ends happily with shared stickers. Difficult feelings stay mild and are reassured straight away, so there is nothing frightening here. The main caveat is how often the mood jumps between calm conversation and excitable, exaggerated bursts with sudden surreal turns, which can feel jolting for a three year old. One sharp line from Bob ('that's the worst joke I've ever heard') is quickly corrected with 'Bob, be polite'.

There is a real problem to solve, Shane's fear of the barbershop, and David works through it with several recognisable steps: naming the worry, offering comfort, and gradually guiding Shane closer to the chair. The limitation is that most of the problem solving is buried inside absurd comedy, and Shane himself mostly stalls and invents excuses rather than taking the lead. The reasoning shown is often deliberately silly ('the voice said coming in, therefore it must be the barbershop') rather than a clear model a child could copy. So the episode shows helpful persistence, but not a strong, followable thinking process.

The language is clearly spoken but built for laughs rather than for a three year old to absorb. Words pile up and lean heavily on puns and invented terms, like the running 'very very very hairy' bit and made up button names, which carry little real meaning. There are some genuinely useful moments, such as explaining that 'apprehensive means nervous' and that 'a ditty is a very short simple song', and everyday words like haircut, scissors and barber are used correctly. Overall the wit and wordplay sit above what most children at this age can follow, which is the main limit here.

This pillar scores low because the episode is built almost entirely on fantasy. A pretend remote controls reality, hair grows instantly, and the brothers wander through imaginary rooms and meet singing hairbrushes, so very little of what happens can be carried into a child's own day. The clearest real world anchor is the haircut itself and the familiar situation of feeling nervous about something new, supported by a caring sibling. Beyond that, the actions on screen are mostly impossible to copy in real life, which keeps the everyday value limited.

More information

This show is built around two adult men who play every role themselves, so children see no women, no children, and no variation in ethnicity or family life on screen. The human picture is narrow and rests on a single dominant type. Within that pairing, though, the two work as equals and swap freely between being silly, being capable, and being openly nervous. Shane admits he is scared of the barber and hugs a comfort blanket while David reassures him, which gently sets aside the cliche that boys must hide their feelings.

Two brothers, David and Shane, set out on a simple everyday goal: getting Shane a haircut he is nervous about. The world stays grounded in recognizable places like a living room and a barbershop, and there is no villain anywhere, with the only tension coming from Shane's nerves and the brothers' comic detours. Much of the action runs on imaginative play: an invisible remote control the viewer 'presses' to pause, rewind and fast-forward the show, plus mime, hair that grows on its own, and a blanket named Bob that Shane talks to. This style is internally consistent and free of anything frightening, with the caveat that it leans more abstract and fantastical than a child at the recommended age typically needs.

This show was clearly made with a parent in the room in mind. The two brothers keep up a stream of physical comedy, surreal logic, and self-aware jokes that adults will catch, the production is polished across its many sets and staged musical numbers, and the simple quest to get Shane a haircut is easy to follow. The main thing that wears on an adult is the repetition, especially the drawn-out back-and-forth about who does and does not have a sticker near the end. On balance it is an easy and often genuinely funny watch for a co-viewing parent.

Themes

Overcoming fear

Shane admits he is 'a little apprehensive' about a real barbershop and is gently helped to go through with the haircut.

Haircuts

Central

The episode centres on the line 'you need a real haircut from a real barber in a real barbershop'.

Siblings

David spends the episode looking for and helping his brother Shane through a worrying moment.

First haircut

Shane has grown enormous hair and is too nervous to visit the barbershop; in the end he sits in the barber's chair and gets his haircut.

Imagination

The brothers travel through a 'very very hairy room' and a 'hairbrush room' and use a remote that pauses and rewinds reality.

Comfort object

Recurring

Shane is offered his blanket Bob, who 'always helps me out when I'm feeling a little nervous'.

Activities

Hairstyling

Shane finally sits in the barber's chair and has his hair cut near the end.

Singing

Characters perform a 'ditty' and a stage number with singing hairbrushes.

Searching

David hunts for Shane in cups and cars, then the pair keep searching for the barbershop.

Dancing

The remote makes David dance until the viewer is asked to press the 'stop dancing button'.

Emotions

Anxiety

Shane says he is 'a little apprehensive', explained on screen as feeling nervous.

Joy

The brothers sing, dance and joke their way through invented rooms and characters.

Empathy

David soothes Shane and tells Bob to 'just be sensitive, he's nervous'.

Behaviour

Helping

David offers reassurance and a comfort blanket so Shane can manage getting his hair cut.

Seeking comfort

Shane holds his blanket Bob to feel braver before the barbershop.

Stalling

Shane invents excuses to delay the haircut, such as 'I've got to wash my hair' and 'I don't have time'.

Encouraging

David keeps Shane moving forward with lines like 'no more stalling, we've got to get you to a barber'.

Sharing

At the end Shane hands out his stickers, saying 'grab half of that, there we go'.

Social lessons

Emotional support

David names Shane's feeling and offers comfort instead of pushing him.

Courage

Shane explains 'I've never been to a real barbershop' before working up to it.

Sharing

Shane gives his stickers away one by one, including 'grab half of that'.

Loud sounds

Several scenes erupt into loud music, applause and vocal effects, like the singing hairbrush band sequence.

Flashing lights

The upside down stage numbers use bright, rapidly changing coloured spotlights and haze on a dark stage.

Two brothers, David and Shane, share a colourful house and a pretend remote control that the viewer is asked to operate. Shane has grown an enormous amount of hair but is too nervous to visit a real barbershop, so David helps him with encouragement and a comfort blanket named Bob. Along the way they pass through several silly imaginary rooms, meet singing hairbrushes and keep searching for the barbershop while Shane stalls. In the end Shane sits in the barber's chair, gets his haircut and hands out stickers to everyone.

Season 1

5 episodes

The Upside Down Show

The Upside Down Show

Movies

recommended age co-watching from 3

Two brothers, David and Shane, set out to find a movie theater so they can show off a film directed by their orange puppet friend. They wander by mistake into a laundromat and a dance studio, meet finger-puppet heroes and a sock named Leftie, and invite the viewer to operate a pretend remote that pauses, rewinds, and fast-forwards the action. They work through a squabble over one chair by sharing it and learn about rhyming along the way. They finally reach a real cinema where the puppet's movie plays with space, pirates, and cowboys, and they sign off encouraging children to make their own movies.

The Upside Down Show

The Upside Down Show

Barbershop

recommended age co-watching from 3

Two brothers, David and Shane, share a colourful house and a pretend remote control that the viewer is asked to operate. Shane has grown an enormous amount of hair but is too nervous to visit a real barbershop, so David helps him with encouragement and a comfort blanket named Bob. Along the way they pass through several silly imaginary rooms, meet singing hairbrushes and keep searching for the barbershop while Shane stalls. In the end Shane sits in the barber's chair, gets his haircut and hands out stickers to everyone.

The Upside Down Show

The Upside Down Show

Art Museum

recommended age co-watching from 3

Two live-action hosts, Shane and David, star in this 'Upside Down Show' episode in which Shane paints what he calls his best work and the pair set out to find the perfect place to display it. They try the refrigerator, a wall, and a door before deciding the painting belongs in an art museum, passing through a sticky room, a foggy room, and a finger-painting museum along the way. Throughout, the viewer is invited to 'press buttons on the remote' to pause, rewind, and shrink or grow things. In the end the friends find a home for the painting and hand Shane fresh paints to create another one.

The Upside Down Show

The Upside Down Show

Pet Shop

recommended age co-watching from 3

Two brothers, David and Shane, host this live action comedy on bright studio sets and speak straight to the viewer, who is asked to press buttons on an imaginary remote. David decides he must have a pet, so the pair search for a pet shop, opening doors into invented places like a puppy room, a parrot room and even the moon. Along the way they pretend to be dogs, meet a parrot that repeats everything, and try one silly idea after another. In the end David adopts a chair as his pet and invites the viewer to do the same.

The Upside Down Show

The Upside Down Show

Camping

recommended age co-watching from 3

David and Shane, two brothers who live in a brightly coloured house, discover that their bedrooms have disappeared and set out to find somewhere to sleep. They try one silly option after another, including a dog's room, sleeping standing up like horses, hanging upside down like bats and oddly shaped beds, while asking the viewer to press buttons on an imaginary remote. A neighbour, Mrs. Bell, finally explains camping and shows them how to use a sleeping bag. The episode ends with the brothers and their puppet friends climbing into sleeping bags to sleep.

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From this series The Upside Down Show

By age 3 years

By platform Paramount +

By theme Imagination Learning to work together Siblings

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