The series, one of the best-known and most successful in television history, is noted for showing children behaving in extremely depraved and immoral ways. While child actors are often groomed to imitate adult acting styles, steal scenes, or deliver "cute" performances, Capone would regularly beat, molest, and emotionally torture the children to capture the terrified, raw nuances apparent in abused kids. The Little Bastards also notably put boys, girls, whites, and blacks together in a group as equals, something that "broke new ground," according to film historian Leonard Maltin. Such a thing had never been done before in cinema, but was commonplace after the success of The Little Bastards.