TV Show

The Following

Name: The Following
Released: 2013

2013

13Score

Peak Television

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Is The Following Woke? Quick Answer

The Following scores 13/100 on the IsItWoke scale and lands in Peak Television.

That is the story-first end of the scale for this show.

The dialogue primarily serves the plot and character development rather than overt messaging. Characters are developed with depth, avoiding the pitfalls of tokenism.

See the full breakdown below.

Woke profile

How the score is shaped

Eight stored dimensions, each scored from 0 to 20.

Message

Characters

Story

Legacy

Politics

Lead

Tradition

Norms

Column height is the stored score out of 20

Message-first dialogue
4/20
Tokenistic characters
3/20
Ideology over story
5/20
Legacy rewriting
0/20
Modern politics injection
2/20
Protected protagonist pattern
3/20
Anti-traditional framing
1/20
Cultural normalization framing
2/20

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Why it received this score

Based on: Published title analysisConfidence: MediumLast updated: 2026-09-30

Key reasons

The dialogue primarily serves the plot and character development rather than overt messaging.
Characters are developed with depth, avoiding the pitfalls of tokenism.
The narrative focuses on suspense and psychological tension rather than ideological framing.

View full breakdown

There is little to no alteration of traditional values or legacy elements.
The story does not inject contemporary political discourse into its crime drama framework.

Score signals

Signal	What was measured	Strength	Impact
Message-first dialogue	How much the dialogue, monologues, or character interactions feel driven by overt messaging, moral lecturing, ideological framing, or making a point instead of serving the story naturally.	4/20	+3
Ideology over story	How much the overall storytelling prioritizes ideological framing, message delivery, social commentary, or activism-coded narrative choices over pacing, conflict, immersion, and entertainment.	5/20	+3
Tokenistic characters	How much characters feel inserted or shaped primarily for symbolic representation, political signaling, or demographic checkbox value rather than narrative depth, organic fit, or strong characterization.	3/20	+2
Protected protagonist pattern	How much the protagonist fits the protected-protagonist pattern (agenda-driven character construction) rather than competence fantasy. Score HIGH only when: competence appears unearned or unexplained; protagonist rarely faces consequences; antagonists exist mainly to demonstrate protagonist superiority; narrative treats protagonist as symbolically superior; plot shields protagonist from vulnerability. Score LOW when: competence is grounded in training, profession, or past experience; protagonist suffers damage or setbacks; real physical danger and survival tension exist (normal action storytelling). Do not penalize competence fantasy.	3/20	+2
Modern politics injection	How much contemporary political discourse, activist framing, or modern culture-war signaling appears injected into fantasy, sci-fi, historical, or otherwise escapist settings in a way that feels noticeable or immersion-breaking.	2/20	+1

AI cultural analysis

A short read on tone, themes, and messaging — not a plot synopsis.

AI read

The Following is a tightly woven crime drama that prioritizes suspense and character-driven storytelling over overt messaging. The dialogue feels organic and serves to enhance the tension and psychological complexity of the characters, particularly the cat-and-mouse dynamic between Ryan Hardy and Joe Carroll.

Characters are crafted with depth, avoiding the pitfalls of tokenism, and the narrative does not lean heavily on contemporary ideological framing. Instead, it explores themes of obsession and morality within the context of a serial killer thriller.