Utah NBC affiliate won't air show about gay couple
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Mormon church-owned NBC affiliate in Utah won't air an upcoming sitcom about a gay couple that invites a surrogate mother into their home as they try to have a baby because the station deems the content inappropriate for its audience.
"The New Normal" is set to debut Sept. 11 on NBC.
"For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time," Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL's parent company, Bonneville International, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in a statement.
"The dialogue is excessively rude and crude; the scenes are too explicit and the stereotypes are offensive on all sides," Simpson added.
NBC defended the program, noting it makes "a statement about the changing definition of the nuclear family."
"The show is against bigotry and hatred in every form and will make that point whenever characters say outrageous or unacceptable things about race, religion, sexual identity, disability, or tolerance of people outside the definitions of 'normal,'" the network said in a statement Monday.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation sharply criticized KSL's decision.
"Same-sex families are a beloved part of American television thanks to shows like Modern Family, Glee and Grey's Anatomy," GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said. "While audiences, critics and advertisers have all supported LGBT stories, KSL is demonstrating how deeply out of touch it is with the rest of the country."
KSL immediately took issue with the criticism on Monday, noting its decision to pull the show is wrongly "being reduced to a single issue."
"KSL did not cancel this show because it features gay characters," the station said in a statement. "We have viewed the pilot and this program contains sexually explicit content, demeaning dialogue and inciting stereotypes."
Over the years, KSL has deemed several other shows inappropriate for its viewers, including "Saturday Night Live," which instead airs on Salt Lake City's KUCW.
Last year, the station declined to air the short-lived 1960s period drama "The Playboy Club," noting it, too, was inappropriate material for its audience.
In 2002, KSL decided not to broadcast an episode of the "Tonight" show because it was set to feature the creators of a stage act called "Puppetry of the Penis."
A year later, KSL joined WNDU-TV, the NBC affiliate owned by the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., in declining to air the short-lived new sitcom, "Coupling." The show was a remake of a BBC sitcom focusing on the sex lives of a group of friends.
The university-owned station noted at the time that the show's sexual jokes "push the envelope well beyond the boundaries of our community's standards."
KSL officials said their decision came after a barrage of Utah viewer complaints over network promotions for the show.
Bonneville International, KSL's parent company, also owns radio stations in Los Angeles, Seattle and Phoenix.
"The New Normal" is set to debut Sept. 11 on NBC.
"For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time," Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL's parent company, Bonneville International, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in a statement.
"The dialogue is excessively rude and crude; the scenes are too explicit and the stereotypes are offensive on all sides," Simpson added.
NBC defended the program, noting it makes "a statement about the changing definition of the nuclear family."
"The show is against bigotry and hatred in every form and will make that point whenever characters say outrageous or unacceptable things about race, religion, sexual identity, disability, or tolerance of people outside the definitions of 'normal,'" the network said in a statement Monday.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation sharply criticized KSL's decision.
"Same-sex families are a beloved part of American television thanks to shows like Modern Family, Glee and Grey's Anatomy," GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said. "While audiences, critics and advertisers have all supported LGBT stories, KSL is demonstrating how deeply out of touch it is with the rest of the country."
KSL immediately took issue with the criticism on Monday, noting its decision to pull the show is wrongly "being reduced to a single issue."
"KSL did not cancel this show because it features gay characters," the station said in a statement. "We have viewed the pilot and this program contains sexually explicit content, demeaning dialogue and inciting stereotypes."
Over the years, KSL has deemed several other shows inappropriate for its viewers, including "Saturday Night Live," which instead airs on Salt Lake City's KUCW.
Last year, the station declined to air the short-lived 1960s period drama "The Playboy Club," noting it, too, was inappropriate material for its audience.
In 2002, KSL decided not to broadcast an episode of the "Tonight" show because it was set to feature the creators of a stage act called "Puppetry of the Penis."
A year later, KSL joined WNDU-TV, the NBC affiliate owned by the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., in declining to air the short-lived new sitcom, "Coupling." The show was a remake of a BBC sitcom focusing on the sex lives of a group of friends.
The university-owned station noted at the time that the show's sexual jokes "push the envelope well beyond the boundaries of our community's standards."
KSL officials said their decision came after a barrage of Utah viewer complaints over network promotions for the show.
Bonneville International, KSL's parent company, also owns radio stations in Los Angeles, Seattle and Phoenix.
Personally, if I don't want to see this, I can choose to turn the station in my home, which I do all the time. Problem solved.
So what? Let them show whatever they want, and not show whatever they want. Many families don't agree with the "new normal", most families actually. Why make this a news story KOMO? How about you go investigate corruption, how are tax money is being wasted, why our states and counties are bankrupt.. you know, real news..
@commentator just because you don't like it being news doesn't make it not news.
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Anytime discrimination is used as a tool, it is news to someone.
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Personally, I have no intention of watching a show that is apparently a glee knockoff.
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However, I don't get the reason why they should think they can discriminate against the type of content that this show is about. Â
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"Gay content" = unairable
Extreme violence/rape/torture/murder = just fine - go ahead and show it
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which is worse? Why are they willing to air shows about violence/rape/murder/torture that violate thier own religious values but not anything 'gay'?
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To me, it smacks of selective enforcement of thier own values which I take as a very hypocritical stance - as do many others. Which makes this newsworthy.
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I think their logic is flawed. I'm sure there are shows they do air that could be criticized by ultra religious folks. Pretty sure there are even some who think owning a TV station is sinful. But, They have the right to determine their own line up and to compete in a free market. Sink or swim.
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 @Theonedog hell to the no!!!
Wonder if they show the news?
Why do I feel I am in the 1700s?
I lived in that area, although it was SE Idaho,  in the 90's and was unable to watch NYPD Blue because the local affiliate would not carry it due to Dennis Franz's rear end being shown.  Had to go to the local bar to watch it on satellite. When the ratings for NYPD Blue got huge the affiliate relented - their morality only went so far, it is all about the bottom line.Â
It is interesting to note that they don't have any problem airing Grimm at 7 PM, certainly family viewing time, which is rated TV-14. Next at 8 is Saving Hope which is TV-14, and at 9 is Law and Order; Special Victim's Unit.
As we all know but tend to forget the media is in business to make money. There are some good news reporters out there but they are kept in check by the editors/bottom line. It is refreshing to see a company that takes a stand. Our world has changed a lot in my lifetime (I am 72) and the days of listening to the radio or watching TV without shock value programing and four letter adjectives are past. Our country is the result of a change in the social mores and ideals from the 40's to now. When Andy Griffith died we all felt a little nostalgia for a simpler time. That simpler time is gone, lock your doors and set your car alarm. My father was a longshoreman and his vocabulary was sprinkled with four letter words but he never swore in front of a woman. If you want to flaunt your sexuality whether hetro or gay please don't do it in my face. In the early days of TV they never showed a man and woman in bed together, and we still enjoyed the programing.
 @whitewings2003 It would be nice if we could take the best of the simpler times and leave the rest behind. Like racism, sexism, religion gone amok, etc. Those simpler times you speak of were also filled with things that most people would not put up with today.Â
The only people that will watch this show are some women and gay people. It won't last 2 months.Â
I'm not Mormon but I lived in Utah for a time and I one thing I do love about the Mormons is how family-oriented they are. I give them props for standing up for what they believe is right. I wish more people would look out for the morals in this country instead of trying to create new rules for whatever is PC at the current time. BTW, being against same sex marriage has nothing to do with race or bigotry. I happen to be black and my wife Asian. How am I a bigot? I'm so sick of all the hate being thrown out there by the left.Â
@FremontTroll - so why do they air so many other shows with violence/rape/torture/murder that aren't family friendly.
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it's selective enforcement of thier own values and morals. and I find THAT offensive.
@FremontTroll family oriented? Multiple wives and a lot underage as well? sure...they should be the ones judging gays.....
 @FremontTroll I'll look out for my own morals. I'm responsible like that.
@FremontTroll The liberal extremists (key word extremists) want to publicly demonize anybody who has the audacity to believe homosexuality is wrong. That now means you must be full of hate and intolerance, you are probably racist, and an idiot to top it off. If you don't buy their version of the truth, they want to bully you into submission. It's just the way it is, and it's ridiculous. I'm white, married to a black woman, with 3 mixed kids. I'm the only white person in my household, yet I must be racist or stupid to think homosexuality is wrong.
 @eichler34 Or conservative extremists, which are far worse.
Looks ridiculous. No NBC affiliates will be airing it after about three weeks.
 @DC I agree that it looks like a show destined for oblivion. I am not anti gay by any stretch of the imagination though.
@two loons @DC - I certainly won't watch it either, (I won't watch anything even remotely connected to that damm Glee show) but hey - they put worse crap on the air all the time.  if it fails after two weeks, so be it.
"For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time." What time is family viewing time?
@Cinn It's this funny thing in households where parents are involved with their children. You sit down to dinner together and talk about your day, then do something as a family afterwards in order to stay connected to your children and guide them through their formative years.
 @TheBronze  @Cinn while the TV is on?
I agree and let's add family time is different in every family. To that end family time may never include watching tv but could include reading, old fashioned board games, doing outside activities, and being involved in afterschool sports, music lessons and dance lessons. So you can be involved in formative years that do not include tv. If tv must be added I have the authority to dictate what channels and show will be watched. So merely airing this show will have no effect on some families. This show airs on Tuesday at 930pm, some families are too busy and those children you speak of should be in bed.
WOW, this show gives new meaning to the words "freak show"
 @CovertAgent So, are you saying gay people are freaks? No longer like you or your comments on other stories if that is the case. The show looks boring to me, but then again, so does almost all TV.
 @two loons No, I was just saying it was such an 'out of box' show, that was all!  So dont be mad at me.  :-)
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 @CIAassassin I cant wait  :-)
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 @2nd Baseman If you are so against gay marriage that you actively work to oppress the rights of your fellow citizen who happens to be gay, you are being hateful. I think you may be saying that you do not treat people unkindly to their face, but you will vote your beliefs. That is your right, and I am glad if you are not hateful to anyone directly. We all have the right to determine what we believe and how we vote. I do find it takes a special kind of hate fueled energy to actively go about trying to prohibit another adult human being from having the exact same set of rights under the constitution. It is particularly heinous if you do so on the basis of race, gender, creed, religion, or sexuality.
I could care less about the show...but I do not think it is the "new normal".
@K00lGuy Oh, but that is just the agenda. Call it normal long enough and people will stop resisting it. And then the networks and media will move on to the next thing, BDSM perhaps? Don't laugh. As boundarys get pushed, tolerance for the abnormal goes up.
 @TheBronze  @K00lGuy BDSM??  LOL....no wonder you people are considered stupid.Â
 @TheBronze  @K00lGuy another slippery slope argument. This is not true. Causation and correlation are not the same. By your logic, allowing mixed race marriage has led us to gay marriage. That is the same argument, even though you did not say it directly.
Why should Hollywood dictate immoral behavior and call it entertainment. Don't worry folks in Seattle you will get to see you Gay show.
 @Telman@ I'll define my own morality. You err when you think you can dictate the morals of others. It is in fact immoral to impose yourself in that way.
 @Telman@ And who dictates what immoral behavior is?
 @msouthj  @Telman@ 1 Corinthians 6:9
 @msouthj  @Telman@ I recently heard about an s study that was done that a majority of young people in America don't even know what the word "morality" means.  That is part of the problem...people does not know what morality is and thus hold nothing as immoral.
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We are no longer becoming faith based....and thus...we do not believe that God is the source of morality.
 @TheBronze  @chickysgirl So are you.
 @realdeal599  @msouthj  @A Believer  @Telman@ You don't own those principles. Many people who do not believe in a god agree with you on every one of those principles.
 @A Believer  @realdeal599  @msouthj  @Telman@ No, no we don't. This world is, was, and always will be comprised of many people who hold a variety of beliefs that do not necessarily come from the bible. The Bible itself is a book full of violence and contradiction. You presuming to speak for your god is the oldest problem in history.
 @realdeal599  @msouthj  @Telman@ Let me guess, you know what it means and can dictate it to the rest of us if only we would listen.
You presume to speak for your god.
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@chickysgirl I can't stad the thumping approach. It is insulting and annoying.
 @msouthj  @A Believer  @Telman@ Yes...this is true but to not steal, kill, strive for purity, be faithful to your spouse, help one another, not use drugs, and so forth and so on are mostly faith based principles.  The root of those moral ideas originated from a belief in something bigger than mortal man.  Just because someone is not "religious" does not mean that the base of morality is not faith based.
 @A Believer  @realdeal599  @Telman@ You can have morals and not be religious.
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@A Believer I think a better solution to this issue is if Christians, such as yourself and myself, were to start reflecting Jesus to non-believers and not worry so much about 'saving' others. If I show others, through my lifestyle and behavior to them, they will eventually see that I have something they might be interested in. It works so much better than thumping them over the head with my Bible and telling them how terrible they are in God's eyes. We should all attempt to behave that way and let God do the 'saving'.Â
 @realdeal599  @msouthj  @Telman@ If it doesn't come from God, then "morality" is meaningless. This is the problem in the world right now. We need to get back to believing what God has said in the Bible and stop thinking we can create our own "morality" to follow.
Could somebody call the wardrobe department about Mr. Red Jacket and Striped Pants?
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That's not Jim Carrey, is it?Â
 @Sid Vishess Damn, I miss your stupidity.Â
 @Sid Vishess Yeah, those clothes would be laughed out of Capitol Hill or the Castro...