Writer and producer Ryan Murphy has the midas touch when it comes to scripting hot new series for television, but at least one US market is underwhelmed.
According to the Washington Post, the Salt Lake City division of NBC television station — a satellite owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — has just drawn a line under the famous Irish American's latest about to be hit show.
The Mormon owned station has said it will not broadcast The New Normal, a new Ryan-penned comedy series about a gay male couple having a baby via a single-mom surrogate.
This being a Ryan comedy, complications set in in the form of a 'small-minded' grandmother who is less than pleased with spiteful relish by Ellen Barkin.
Nanna, as Barkin is called, delivers trademark zingers like: 'I happen to love the gays — I could never get my hair to look this good without them.'
The New Normal is the latest offering from the creator of breakout hits like Glee, Nip/Tuck and American Horror Story. Ryan has even confessed that the show is somewhat semi-autobiographical.
But the Mormons of Salt Lake City are having none of it.
'For our brand, this program feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time,' Jeff Simpson, the CEO of Bonneville International (the Mormon Church-owned parent company of the NBC station) said last week in a statement.
Simpson, who was clearly not getting the jokes, said the show’s 'dialogue is excessively rude and crude; the scenes are too explicit and the stereotypes are offensive on all sides.'
The New Normal has also been targeted by the right wing anti-gay group One Million Moms — the same group that targeted JC Penney for featuring Ellen DeGeneres as its spokeswoman.
Murphy's show, the group said in a statement, 'continues to subject families to the decay of morals and values, and the sanctity of marriage in attempting to redefine marriage.'
The group added that Murphy's new show 'is damaging to our culture.'
Responding to the growing controversy, NBC said in a statement that The New Normal 'is also making a statement about the changing definition of the nuclear family.'
NBC added that '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 of tolerance of people outside the definitions of normal.'
6 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Kevin Longan | Aug 31, 2012, 02:01 AM EDT
Since when is Kansas a southern state? Way off, O.. Ryan Murphy is a talented guy, no doubt; but going on a tangent I have to say Glee is the worst show I've EVER seen, absolutely awful. As for his latest effort I hope that it can get the exposure needed to take off, I'm always supportive of Irish/Irish-Americans in show biz. You go, girl!
Stiofain | Aug 29, 2012, 10:32 PM EDT
I live in Idaho. Covered by this affiliate. It is not the first programming this affiliate has refused to air. I can't remember the others, it's the way of life here.
EphraimKibbey | Aug 29, 2012, 10:01 PM EDT
Perhaps they felt the real danger it presented was in showing gays in a loving, committed relationship and dealing with the normal day to day problems of life in a rational human manner. Especially since this series was being done by a skillful, humorous veteran storyteller, its threat could be very real to their anti-gay message. The greatest threat to the fear-mongers war on "otherness" is their audience's realization that those being demonized as "other" are really not so different after all. Gladly, most of the younger generation know the truth and can't understand what all the fuss is all about.
cillowen | Aug 29, 2012, 08:38 PM EDT
force feed those mormons - you'll upset romney's tribe
Ms.Gail | Aug 29, 2012, 07:24 PM EDT
People who want to see it will probably be able to on NBC.com
occassio | Aug 29, 2012, 07:10 PM EDT
When Aiden Quinn’s TV show, The Book of Daniel, aired, it didn’t last for more than one season because it was deemed too risky. Several southern states including Mississippi, Texas and Kansas along with the American Family Association (AFA) launched a national boycott calling it “trash TV”. Sponsors pulled out quicker than a flash of lightening on a hot summer night. The intimation was that family was unorthodox (wife liked martinis, daughter was dealing drugs, adopted son having sex with the bishop’s daughter, etc.)…or was it? However, it was no more “trash TV” than the scores of television series on air today, many of which depict rape, incest, drugs, alcohol, the sex trade and the maximum number of murders within the half hour or hour in prime time – ad nauseam. I thought it quirky and entertaining and was glad to see Aiden Quinn in a TV series. Perhaps HBO will consider picking up the project. They are less intimidated by the hue and cry of the single-minded intent on filtering what we watch and burning the remaining copy of Jack Kerouac’s, ‘On the Road’.