PTC Identifies Best and Worst New Fall TV Shows for Family Viewing
The Parents Television Council has announced its picks for Best and Worst New TV Shows, an annual list of new fall broadcast TV shows that are safe for children and families.
Best
- The CW’s All American
- CBS’ The Neighborhood
- ABC’s The Rookie
Worst
- NBC’s I Feel Bad
- Fox’s The Cool Kids
- CBS’ Magnum P.I.
“We are happy to report that there are a number of new TV shows on primetime broadcast television that appear to be safe for children and families to watch together this fall, and that hasn’t always been the case in recent years. We applaud the TV shows – ‘All American,’ ‘The Neighborhood,’ and ‘The Rookie’ – that made it onto our ‘Best’ list. We encourage families to watch and we encourage sponsors to support those programs with their media dollars,” said PTC President Tim Winter.
“The shows that made it onto our ‘Worst’ list showcase the most ‘bottom-of-the-barrel’ programming on the new fall schedule. NBC’s ‘I Feel Bad’ has teased the show in promos with the main adult female character asking her young male coworkers, ‘Be honest: am I still do-able?’ In the world of #metoo, why would NBC air such dialogue? If the genders were reversed, or if that dialogue took place in real life, employees would be hauled into HR, fired, or sued.
“Hollywood has been disappointingly hypocritical by saying that sexual harassment is wrong in real life, while simultaneously asking the audience to laugh at, and be entertained by, incidents of on-screen sexual harassment. Our recent research of broadcast television ‘family comedies’ found that over 80% of all primetime broadcast network family comedies contained instances of adults using explicit sexual dialogue in front of children. With the introduction of ‘I Feel Bad’ and ‘The Cool Kids’, it appears this trend isn’t going away any time soon.”
The PTC annually reviews and evaluates new TV shows presented at the Fall TV Previews at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles in order to create this list. Because the Best and Worst List is based on a review of the first episode, families are encouraged to look at the PTC’s Family Guide for complete reviews later in the fall season. More details and reviews of the Best and Worst New TV Shows can be found here: http://w2.parentstv.org/blog/index.php/2018/10/01/paleyfest-recap-the-best-and-worst-new-shows-of-2018/.
The Parents Television Council® (www.parentstv.org®) is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media. This national grassroots organization has more than 1.4 million members, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children. The PTC™ also works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices for their own families. Visit the new PTC Watchdog Blog at http://www.parentstv.org/blog/. Follow the PTC on Twitter: @ThePTC.
