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NBC’s Salt Lake City Affiliate Refuses to Air The Playboy Club

Photo: NBC
Photo: NBC

NBC’s Salt Lake City affiliate, KSL Television, has told the network that it won’t be airing the network’s new fall drama and Mad Men knockoff The Playboy Club come fall. KSL says the show is at odds with its own brand: “The Playboy brand is known internationally. Everyone is clear what it stands for. We want to be sure everyone is clear what the KSL brand stands for, which is completely inconsistent with the Playboy brand.” The affiliate is also concerned that the show is at odds with its anti-pornography stance. KSL has a point. The show certainly doesn’t have a critical perspective on Hugh Hefner’s empire. The pilot is basically hagiography. Did you know no women in the early sixties were as free as Playboy bunnies? Bet you didn’t! But so long as KSL’s decision not to air the show doesn’t spread like herpes, it might end up helping The Playboy Club by making it seem more provocative than it actually is. Sure, there are Playboy bunnies in the series, but it’s not nearly as risqué as almost any cable drama. But between KLA and the inevitable complaints from the Parents Television Council, come fall, Playboy Club should have an undeserved rep as the sexiest show of the season — and the makings of an ad campaign Gossip Girl would admire. [KSL]

NBC’s Salt Lake City Affiliate Refuses to Air The Playboy Club