What is Show Me a Hero's IQ Score?

Show Me a Hero has an IQ Score of 173/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Masterclass tier. The score breaks down to 46/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 39/50 Educational Value, and 45/50 Craft & Quality.

Is Show Me a Hero educational?

Show Me a Hero is strong on educational value, 39/50 on TVI's rubric, which covers academic content, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, life skills, and knowledge transfer.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's current published formula is round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers. TVI publishes a three-dimension breakdown only when those values reproduce the displayed composite. The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

Show Me a Hero , IQ Score 173/200

Name: Show Me a Hero
Genre: drama
Rating: 173
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Carla Quevedo, Peter Riegert, Jim Belushi, Alfred Molina

Show Me a Hero has an IQ Score of 173/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Masterclass tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH·Updated 2026-07-24·Methodology

drama

173/ 200

Masterclass TVI Essential

Measurably increases domain knowledge or cognitive capacity

Show Me a Hero poster, IQ Score 173/200, Masterclass tier on TV Intelligentsia

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

Cinematic Score/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

What these dimensions mean

Cognitive Stimulation: how much the title demands of your mind, its structural complexity, ideas, and sustained intellectual engagement.
Educational Value: what you take away, across academic content, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, life skills, and knowledge transfer.
Craft & Quality: production excellence in service of the work, its direction, writing, performance, and aesthetic intent.
Cinematic Score: composition quality, emotional impact, and how the music integrates with the work. Does not affect the IQ Score.

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Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.3

Formula

round(C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4

Database scale

2,587 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. We accept no studio money. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions. Our reviewers see no sponsor data, no affiliate revenue, and no screener access in exchange for coverage. More about how we work →

TVI Essential · Consensus

Show Me a Hero scores 173/200 on the TVI IQ Score, placing it in the Masterclass tier. A mayor attempts to implement public housing integration in New Rochelle. Educational about housing policy and racial politics, earning Cultural Impact, Intellectual Substance, and Lasting Significance. TVI Essential is an editorial designation; IQ Score is a content rating, not an intelligence measurement.

The TVI Take

A mayor attempts to implement public housing integration in New Rochelle. Educational about housing policy and racial politics.

Cognitive engagement from the political complexity. Entertainment from the historical drama.

People & Production David Simon · Paul Haggis · HBO 23 connections