A Utah-based NBC affiliate owned by the
Mormon Church is refusing to broadcast The New Normal.
The New Normal features
a gay couple (played by Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha) trying to
start a family and the surrogate mother (Georgia King) who comes to
their aid.
“After
viewing the pilot episode of The New Normal,
we have made the decision to keep it off our fall schedule,” Jeff
Simpson, CEO of KSL-TV parent company Bonneville International, told
Deseret
News. “For our brand,
this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions,
especially during family viewing time.”
“Simpson
cited crude dialogue, explicit content and offensive
characterizations as underlying reasons KSL will not air The
New Normal,” the paper
reported.
Ellen Barkin, a
co-star of the show, called the decision “homophobic.”
“Anyone in Utah
interested in @NBCTheNewNormal please clog up @KSL5TV feed 4 their
blatantly homophic [sic] decision 2 not air the show #KSLBigots,”
she messaged her more than 102,000 Twitter followers.
GLAAD President
Herndon Graddick called KSL “out of touch.”
“Same-sex families are a beloved part
of American television thanks to shows like Modern Family,
Glee and Grey's Anatomy,” said Graddick. “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.”
The decision comes a month after the
Christian conservative group One Million Moms called
for an ad boycott against the show.
(Related: Ryan
Murphy: One Million Moms will love The
New Normal.)