Reviewed by Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH · Cordelia Witty, EdS., NCSP
TV Intelligentsia is the credibility layer for what to watch

Your TV has an IQ.
Do you know the score?

TVI exists to help people spend their attention on entertainment that helps them grow.

Every film and show, scored across three dimensions of intelligence. Cognitive depth. Educational value. Entertainment quality. One number that tells you what you're really watching.

Not a test of your intelligence, a measure of what the show demands of it. How we score →

2,330 titles scored · Published methodology v1.2 · No studio money

Type a show, get its IQ Score in one tap.

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TVI Essential badge
The editorial designation
TVI Essential. 128 titles in the founding canon.
Built from the published TVI methodology, with named score rationale on every page. Explore the inaugural class →
As seen in Yahoo Lifestyle · Parenting Patch "This school psychologist is rating kids' TV in a new way and it's incredible." , Apr 2026
142
Stim.
60-second watch audit
What is your watchlist doing for your brain?
Enter 3 to 5 shows. Get a TVI Score and 3 personalized picks. 60 seconds, free, no account.
Or roast my watchlist. Parent? Audit with Cordelia.
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Titles Scored
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Dimensions
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Sub-Metrics
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Critics Consulted

How We Compare

Critics rate quality. We measure intelligence. See where our IQ scores diverge most from Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and IMDb, and why.

What You Can Do

Top Lists

Highest IQ Score

The top of the rubric

Most Cognitively Demanding

Highest C dimension

Brain Diets

Curated viewing plans built around what you want to learn, develop, or explore.

Which one earns the evening?

Type two titles. See the dimension-by-dimension breakdown, side by side. Your gut already knows, the rubric says it out loud.

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Browse all comparison pages →

The IQ Score Explained

Three dimensions, published methodology, built on cognitive science.

40% weight
Cognitive Stimulation
How hard does this make your brain work? Narrative complexity, dialogue density, cognitive load, conceptual novelty.
35% weight
Educational Value
Did you learn something you can use? Factual density, domain knowledge, practical applicability, accuracy.
25% weight
Entertainment Quality
Is it actually good? Smart content shouldn't be boring. Boring content fails our standard too.

About the scale: TV IQ is a proprietary 0–200 score, not a psychometric IQ test. It measures the intellectual demand a title places on its audience across three weighted dimensions. A score of 160+ (Masterclass) means peak cognitive engagement, not that you need a 160 IQ to watch it. The scale is purpose-built for media comparison, not human intelligence measurement.

Read the full methodology

Built for people who take this seriously.

2,330
Titles scored
3
Scored dimensions · 12 sub-metrics
22%
Masterclass tier, not inflated
177
Kids shows · reviewed and verified by a school psychologist
Scoring Distribution
Masterclass ≥160: 28.7%
Stimulating ≥130: 34.9%
Competent ≥100: 31.2%
Passive ≥70: 4.4%
Numbing <70: 0.8%
Criterion-referenced against the published rubric, not graded on a curve. The catalog is curated, so the median runs high. The floor is real.
Score Integrity
The IQ Score measures what a title demands of your brain, not how much people liked it. Popular shows score lower when they're cognitively undemanding. That's intentional.
Framework
Grounded in published cognitive science. Kids titles additionally reviewed and verified by Cordelia Witty, EdS., NCSP against the CASEL social-emotional learning framework.
Full methodology →

New scores and Brain Diets, every week. Free.

Every Saturday: 3 new IQ scores, 1 Brain Diet playlist, and the thinking behind what's worth watching. Free.

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New Scores Every Week

First look at every new title added to the database. Be the first to know when your favourites get their IQ.

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Weekly Brain Diets

Curated playlists built around what you're trying to get from your screen time. Think, learn, or unwind.

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Score Breakdowns

Deep-dives into how we scored trending titles. The three-dimensional analysis behind the number.

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New scores + Brain Diets, free every week.