You have the Parents Television Council to thank for Bob Kushell’s exit as showrunner of ABC’s “The Muppets,” at least according to the Parents Television Council.
Despite reports attributing Kushell’s exit to creative differences with executive producer Bill Prady, the watchdog group claims that its research revealing the amount of “adult-themed content” on the show is responsible for its relaunch.
“I believe our research on ‘The Muppets’ exposed a hard truth: When you have a show that inherently attracts kids, but frequently exposes them to adult content — sexual innuendoes, sexual references, drugs and alcohol — it’s bound to fail,” PTC president Tim Winter said in a statement released Wednesday.
A report released by the organization last month claimed that “children were exposed to adult-themed content every 3 minutes and 38 seconds during the first four episodes.”
“We call on the ABC Television Network to relaunch ‘The Muppets’ so that parents can actually watch the show with their children without fear of their children being confronted by sex and drugs on this iconic TV show,” Winter’s statement continued.
Regardless of the “hard truths” exposed by the PTC, ABC is standing behind its series, having extended its first season by three additional episodes last week.