Utah station refuses to air Ryan Murphy's 'The New Normal' for gay story

Ryan Murphy's new NBC series The New Normal has been pulled by the network's Utah affiliate KSL-TV - owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - from the fall lineup because of its gay content.

The New Normal, co-created by Ali Adler, follows a gay couple (Justin Bartha and Andrew Rannells) with successful careers in Los Angeles, who meet a single Midwestern mother (Georgina King) and subsequently becomes their surrogate.



"From time to time we may struggle with content that crosses the line in one area or another," Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL's parent company Bonneville International, told the Salt Lake Tribune. "The dialogue might be excessively rude and crude. The scenes may be too explicit or the characterizations might seem offensive.

"For our brand, this programme feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time," he added.

Last season, KSL also refused to air NBC series The Playboy Club, because KSL "is completely inconsistent with the Playboy brand".

However, The New Normal apparently could still be aired in Utah on a different channel.

General manager of KUCW and KTVX Matt Jacquint told the paper that they are looking for a time slot to air The New Normal on the weekends.

Back in July, the series also was slammed by conservative group One Million Mums because it features homosexual characters.

The New Normal premieres on Tuesday, September 11 at 8.30pm on NBC.

Watch the trailer for The New Normal below: