Making a television series is a complicated experience without the interference of the networks. There are enough rules that are already mandated by the government to deal with that there seems to be little reason to make it even more difficult to create quality entertainment.
In reality, most networks have their own policies when it comes to episodes that they think the general public might find offensive on some level. And that leads to those episodes getting pulled before they go to air or never airing again. Sometimes the networks are right and other times they're worrying about nothing at all.
10 The Twilight Zone Gets Racist
There have been few different iterations of The Twilight Zone over the years though it's hard to do better than the original. The stories offered glimpses into alternate realities as well as other science fiction stories that bordered on being thrillers if not outright horrors.
Originally broadcast in 1964, Season 5, Episode 31 featured a controversial conversation about World War II between a Veteran and a Japanese-American man played by George Takei. The racial epithets that were thrown at Takei's character caused this episode to only be aired once.
9 Maude Tackled Some Serious Issues In A Two Parter
Most modern audiences don't know much about the classic TV series Maude. This mainstay of 1970's TV culture starred the legendary Bea Arthur as Maude Findlay, a middle-aged woman with extremely liberal views who was not afraid to share them.
Audiences responded well to her takes on civil rights as well as equality for everyone. But a Season 1 two-parter proved too much for some affiliates as it addressed the issue of abortion. On top of that, the specific episode also had some offensive comments related to race made by a character named Carol.
8 Boy Meets World Actually Managed To Cross The Line
Of all the TV series to have a total of three controversial episodes pulled from the air, no one would expect Boy Meets World to qualify. This coming-of-age story was a hit with fans and created a legacy that is still relevant today.
It's important to keep in mind that "controversial" is an extremely relative term in this case. As an example, Season 5, Episode 22 was pulled for featuring kissing. But this was a Disney sitcom aimed at kids so they tended to be pretty sensitive about these kinds of situations.
7 I Love Lucy Visited Cuba At The Wrong Moment
I Love Lucy remains one of the most respected sitcoms of all time. Not only did it put a female comedian front and center it also depicted an interracial married couple. And this show was produced in an era when neither of these things were considered to be acceptable.
But Season 6, Episode 9 had an unexpected issue. It originally aired in 1956 and featured Lucy, Ricky, and the rest of the cast heading to Cuba. The episode itself wasn't offensive but by the 1960s the relationship between Cuba and the US had fallen apart. As such, it wasn't rerun for a long time.
6 Many NBC Affiliates Didn't Air The 30 Rock Reunion
During the course of the pandemic, several series returned with reunions in one form or another. One of those series was 30 Rock which reassembled Liz Lemon and her former TGS cohorts for another adventure together.
Many critics panned the reunion episode as nothing more than an ad for NBC's streaming service, Peacock. Apparently, many of NBC's affiliates felt the same and refused to air the special. They weren't particularly enthusiastic about promoting their own demise.
5 South Park Made A Lot People Mad With Their 200th Episode
South Park has made a habit out of pushing people's buttons whenever possible. It's a strategy that has worked extremely well for the series as it often blends offensive humor with poignant social commentary. But every once in a while even South Park goes too far.
Season 14 featured a two-parter to celebrate the series 200th episode. References to Islam in Episode 200 led to death threats as well as episode 201 being heavily edited. While they can be found in Blu-Ray and DVD sets, these episodes cannot be viewed in reruns or on streaming services.
4 The X-Files Has An Episode You Won't See In Reruns
For several seasons, The X-Files absolutely dominated the TV landscape. The adventures of Mulder and Scully as they tried to unravel the truth about aliens on Earth were captivating. And the monster of the week episodes were often highly enjoyable, too.
But there is one episode that won't be getting rebroadcast any time soon. Season 4, Episode 2 featured a family of inbred, violent hillbillies committing a shocking variety of depraved acts. It's safe to say that Fox wasn't a fan as they never reran it.
3 Stomping On The Puerto Rican Flag Wasn't A Good Call On Seinfeld
There are many people who still believe that Seinfeld was the greatest sitcom ever made. And there is certainly a strong argument to be made to support that case. But even the best of the best makes a misstep once in a while.
In Season 9, Episode 20, Jerry and the gang went to a Mets game only to be cut off on their way home by the Puerto Rican Day parade. One thing led to another with Kramer setting the Puerto Rican flag on fire and stomping it out. It was pulled from reruns and not used in syndication.
2 Surprisingly, Married With Children Only Had Two Episodes Pulled
Even by today's standards, Married with Children was incredibly crude. The story of the degenerate Bundy family ran for 11 seasons on Fox. Though it was a favorite among fans, critics and censors weren't always on board with its style of humor.
As shocking as this is, Married with Children only had two episodes pulled during its run. Season 3, Episode 10 was deemed so offensive due to sexual content that it didn't air in the US for more than a decade. That being said, it did air internationally in syndication before that.
1 ABC Blocked An Episode Of Black-ish
Over the course of seven seasons, the now-iconic series Black-ish has taken a difficult but realistic look at what it means to be Black in modern America. To date, 163 episodes of the series have been produced though only 162 of them made it to air.
A Season 4 episode titled "Please, Baby, Please" was produced but pulled before airing by ABC. It examined the United States a year after the election of then-President Donald Trump. While ABC has since released the episode online, the 2018 decision fractured their relationship with series creator Kenya Barris.
0 Comments