ABC scraps episode of 'Black-ish' dealing with Kaepernick and NFL protests. Fans want to know why
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Just when we are fooled into believing that network television is getting more diverse and willing to tackle difficult subjects, we get reminders things aren’t where they should be in 2018. Sure, there are more shows with women and people of color thaABC scraps episode of 'Black-ish' dealing with Kaepernick and NFL protests. Fans want to know why
Just when we are fooled into believing that network television is getting more diverse and willing to tackle difficult subjects, we get reminders things aren’t where they should be in 2018. Sure, there are more shows with women and people of color than ever before, and this certainly represents progress. But all too often, mainstream networks shy away from controversial topics—usually when they don’t want to risk their streams of revenue. Take for example the ABC show Black-ish. While the show has done a great job of addressing a number of race and class issues (the name alone has garnered its share of controversy), the network has stopped short of allowing the show to reach its full potential. Recently an episode which discusses Colin Kaepernick, the NFL, and protests against police violence was shelved by ABC executives. According to The Grio, show creator Kenya Barris says that it was a mutual decision. However, there are rumors that the show was scrapped because of pressure from the network to do so. Network chief Channing Dungey gave a different story to the press. During a call with reporters to discuss ABC’s new season, network chief Channing Dungey addressed the topic head on: [...] “With this particular episode, there were a number of different elements to the episode that we had a hard time coming to terms on. Much has been made about the kneeling part of it, which was not even really the issue, but I don’t want to get into that. At the end of the day, this was a mutual decision between Kenya and the network to not put the episode out.” The rumors about why the show was not allowed to air come at the same time that viewers are questioning why this topic might have been deemed too controversial, but it was perfectly fine for the Roseanne show to make light of diversity on television. The Grio explains: Read more