Adam Rose/FOXI hear that conservative groups are attacking Glee over its recent sexy episode. Please tell me that they won't win and that my favorite show will stay on the air.
—Dana A., via the inbox
Yes, the super uptight Parents Television Council has gone after Glee, citing its sex-themed "First Time" episode as some sort of portal to hell.
And yes, the same group has targeted several other series in the past, series that were later canceled. I'm thinking The Playboy Club, which died after three episodes, and, of course, MTV's Skins.
So will Glee now face the same fate?
Not likely.
Sure, the PTC had lobbied against The Playboy Club for months before the thing even debuted, but then again, the show suffered from terrible ratings and fleeing advertisers as well.
So did the group really have anything to do with the cancellation?
Hard to say, but probably not.
Ditto with another erstwhile series, Skins. The PTC hated it, what with the MTV show's drugs and sex and sex and drugs and teens. The show itself got decent ratings at first, but then viewership went limp and advertisers bailed before Skins eventually went bye-bye.
Other MTV shows had lower ratings and were still renewed. So, whether the PTC really had anything to do with that one is up for interpretation.
These days, though, experts tell me that the PTC has little clout, and any effect that the group might have on Glee would be negligible.
"The PTC just represents free publicity at this point," says Business Insider Entertainment Editor Megan Angelo. "And a show like Glee, which has lost some buzz lately, can use it."
Indeed, if anything, it won't be parental pearl-clutching that will kill this show. It'll be sagging ratings.