10 TV Shows Boycotted For Ridiculous Reasons

10. Skins (US Version) Showed Teens As They Really Are

The original Skins, airing in the UK on Channel 4, was a landmark series that drew praise for its realistic portrayal of teenage life and real-world issues. Made with heart and integrity – not to mention a writer’s room that had some actual young people in it – the show was a universal success. So of course the US had to attempt a remake, and of course angry US prudes decried the show as blasphemous. What else is new?

Featuring teenagers that do teenage things like drink, do drugs, and have sex, the US version of Skins was actually more tame than the UK one. Of course, the US has way more conservative groups than the UK, so when they found out that – gasp – teenagers might learn that smoking exists from television, groups such as the Parents Television Council called for a boycott of the show in order to save the nation’s children.

To take matters further, they even filed a letter to the US Department of Justice, asking them to bring a child pornography charge against the series for depicting underage sex.

Pointing to swearing and even a bum shot or two as evidence that the series was an abomination, the boycotters organized a campaign to target advertisers of the show and convince parents that no teen should watch the series. Eventually the outrage resulted in 11 advertisers - including Subway, General Motors, Wrigley, and Taco Bell - to pull their ads, thus killing the show after only one season had aired.