Salt Lake City station nixes gay sitcom

Salt Lake City's NBC affiliate, KSL-TV, has announced it will not air "The New Normal," a sitcom about a woman who acts as surrogate for a gay couple. Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL parent company Bonneville International, said in a statement the channel will not air the sitcom because of what he describes as crude dialogue, explicit content and offensive characterizations, the Deseret News in Salt Lake City reported Friday. "After viewing the pilot episode of 'The New Normal,' we have made the decision to keep it off our fall schedule," Simpson said. "For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time." The move comes one month after advocacy group One Million Moms called on advertisers to boycott the sitcom, The Hollywood Reporter reported. "NBC is using public airwaves to continue to subject families to the decay of morals and values, and the sanctity of marriage in attempting to redefine marriage," the group said at the time. "These things are harmful to our society, and this program is damaging to our culture." Actress Ellen Barkin, who appears in "The New Normal," took to Twitter in reaction to KSL's decision, which she called homophobic. She suggested anyone interested in the sitcom should clog up KSL's Twitter feed, using the hashtag "#KSLBigots."