Silly Parents, ‘Glee’ Not for Kids

Thursday, 21 October 2010 | by Pat's Picks

My 8-year-old daughter keeps telling me that there are kids at school who are allowed to watch “Glee.” And I respond by explaining that it’s not a kids show.

I was glad to see New York Daily News TV columnist Richard Huff back me up on that this morning. He’s reacting to a misguided protest from the Parents Television Council, which is complaining about the raunchy photo shoot some Glee cast members did for GQ magazine.

Huff says the parents’ group has completely missed that fact that Glee isn’t a family show. Huff writes: “Despite the feel-good singing and dancing moments, the show is about as family-oriented as ‘Boardwalk Empire’.” The content rating on Glee confirms this. Episodes typically carry a TV-14 rating, often with a warning for coarse language or suggestive dialogue.

Lisa de Moraes of the Washington Post takes a softer stance on the parent protest saying “no good” can come out of having 30-year-old actors playing teenagers.

Which bring me back to my point: just because the show is about kids doesn’t mean it’s suitable for kids. Knowing that, Fox does have a responsibility to be careful about how it markets the show. GQ should be careful about what it puts in plain view on the magazine racks in supermarkets. But parents shouldn’t be protesting or trying to change the show. They should be turning it off when their kids are watching.