The Parents Television Council issued a statement in response to last week’s episode of Fox’s Pitch.
“Imagine The Sound of Music opening with a scene of Baroness von Schrader and Captain von Trapp naked and in bed, rolling around for 10-15 seconds, then getting dressed and shown walking down the stairs into the kitchen. But the rest of the movie takes place just as produced. That’s basically what happened on Pitch last night. It was a bait-and-switch for families, many of whom likely walked away after the opening scene and will never trust that program again,” said PTC President Tim Winter.
“What genius at the network, or on the production staff, decided that a gratuitous sex scene was a good way to begin an otherwise family-friendly show? What marketing class did they take that suggested it was good business to immediately alienate your target market? It’s not like we needed yet another example demonstrating that network programmers cannot get out of their own way when it comes to reaching a family audience. Sadly, that’s what we got last night.
“Either Pitch is a family show or it is an edgy show. It cannot be both. Adding gratuitous sex scenes to Pitch will only sound the death knell for what otherwise is one of the most positive new fall TV shows for families.”
