ABC is actually worried about what people might say about it.
In the face of pressure from various groups, the network has pulled the reality series "Welcome to the Neighborhood" before it even got on the air.
Gee, can't imagine why — unless, maybe, it was the bigotry spewed by a bunch of the participants.
The premise of the show (which has already completed taping) sounds fairly simple. Three families who live in suburban Austin, Texas, met and interacted with seven other families who were hoping to win a lovely home in this lovely neighborhood. Every week, the residents eliminated one of the families until a winner was chosen.
This being reality TV, however, things weren't that simple. The three families already living in the neighborhood are white, Republican and religious; the families hoping to move in included African-Americans; Asian-Americans; Latinos; a white, gay couple and their adopted African-American child; Wiccans; a couple covered in tattoos (who turned out to be staunch Republicans); a poor white family; and a seemingly conservative white family whose mom is a stripper.
You might think that having cameras around would prevent the residents from expressing their bigotry . . . but you'd be wrong. Offensive statements were made about the various minorities. It's amazing to hear one couple complain about "all those children" in the Hispanic family (which has four — one more than some of the residents). The neighbors wonder if the Asian-Americans were born in this country because, gee, they look different from us. Homophobia runs rampant, as does intolerance of religious views other than their own.
The first two episodes drew protests from groups ranging from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to the National Fair Housing Alliance. The NFHA raised questions about whether "Welcome" violated the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to deny housing or otherwise make it unavailable because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or family status.
Lest you think this is a bunch of left-wing organizations caught up in a frenzy of political correctness, the group that comes off the worst in the first couple of episodes of "Welcome to the Neighborhood" is the white, religious, Republican residents. As a matter of fact, the conservative Family Research Council also expressed concerns about the show, fearing it would make the religious folks look bad.
Which it does.
It's ironic that ABC thought "Welcome" would be a good fit in the "Desperate Housewives" time slot. Both shows are set on a street where the neighbors interact, but on the fictional "Housewives" nobody thinks twice about the Hispanics who live next door and nobody bats an eye when an African-American family moves in.
We were assured that over the course of the six "Welcome" episodes, the neighbors would have epiphanies and learn that their prejudices are wrong. That they would "confront preconceived notions of what makes a good neighbor" (according to a network statement); that they'd become better people; and that viewers would learn something, too.
That assumes viewers watch all six episodes. And, in a statement, ABC acknowledged that watching the first couple of episodes could leave the impression that bigotry is a great reason to keep people from moving in next door.
"The fact that true change only happens over time made the episodic nature of this series challenging, and given the sensitivity of the subject matter in early episodes we have decided not to air the series at this time," the network statement continued.
Frankly, this was the right thing to do. And a bit surprising, given that the network had not only paid for the show but had promoted it heavily. Plus, the decision to remove it from the schedule came only 10 days before it was set to premiere.
What's even more surprising is that network executives and producers thought that, in the 21st century, it would be OK to let hatred and bigotry reign on the airwaves for several weeks.
ABC is not promising it will never air the show. And I suppose it might be possible to condense it into a single, two-hour special so that we see all that progress toward understanding we're assured was there.
But it's probably a better idea just to let this one fade away.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com