Parents are present in each teen's life and run the gamut from caring to off-balance, yet they conveniently disappear during parties. Female competitiveness is emphasized, with characters arguing over power and male attention.

A dead body is shown at length, with bloated and rotten flesh from drowning.

As in the comic series, much of the show's plot is derived from a love triangle and romantic complications. Both male and female characters are shown undressed: female characters in bras, males shirtless. Archie in particular is frequently objectified and his hair color referred to; he's called things like a "ginger bull" and a "ginger stallion." An illicit couple (a 15-year-old student and an adult teacher) is shown having sex in a car, both shirtless (no private parts are visible). Archie is asked if he "tapped some cougar ass"; one teen asks another if he killed someone and "did things to the body" afterward. Two main teen characters have sex in a shower; no nudity.

"Hell," "ass," "bitch." Girls call each other things like "fat" and "bitch."

Brands are mentioned: HBO, Adderall, Twitter.

Betty takes prescription Adderall; the show implies she doesn't need it.