You can only push the boundaries so far on TV. Even the edgiest networks have their limits when it comes to what they’ll allow to hit the airwaves—or continue to hit them after an initial broadcast causes controversy. Just about every recent comedy show of note has dealt with censorship in some way, shape, or form, from scenes being edited out to entire installments disappearing. Here are a few that ended up with several banned episodes under their belts.
4. FAMILY GUY
Seth MacFarlane’s long-running animated series had an episode pulled during its second season. In 2000’s “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein,” Peter tries to get Chris to convert to Judaism so he can be smart and successful. Fox executives feared it would be perceived as anti-Semitic and prevented it from airing as scheduled. It wouldn’t be shown until years later. Season 8’s “Partial Terms of Endearment,” in which Lois contemplates getting an abortion, has never aired in the U.S. and isn’t available on streaming services, but it was released on DVD. The Season 11 episode “Turban Cowboy,” which features a scene in which Peter runs people over at the Boston Marathon, was also temporarily banned after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
3. IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA
In 2020, five episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia were removed from streaming services. No one from the show has publicly given a reason, but a quick examination of the episodes in question makes it pretty obvious. “America’s Next Top Paddy’s Billboard Model Contest,” “The Gang Recycles Their Trash,” and “Dee Day” feature depictions of Dee’s stereotypical Hispanic and Asian characters, Martina Martinez and Taiwan Tammy. “Dee Reynolds: Shaping America’s Youth” and “The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6,” on the other hand, feature instances of blackface by cast members.
2. BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD
MTV’s Beavis and Butt-Head has had a number of episodes pulled from circulation over the years, and many others edited to remove offensive material. After the show was blamed for a young boy burning down his house and killing his little sister in 1993, the network announced that it would be moving the show to a later time slot and taking out any references to fire. The Season 3 episode “Comedians,” which features Beavis lighting newspapers on fire and burning down a comedy club, was reportedly pulled after the incident and is not currently available on home video or streaming. Several other episodes remain unavailable (officially, anyway), apparently due to scenes involving fire, drugs, guns, and the like.
1. SOUTH PARK
The Season 14 South Park episodes “200” and “201” have not been shown on Comedy Central since their initial airing due to references to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Trey Parker and Matt Stone had previously depicted Muhammad in the Season 5 episode “Super Best Friends” without any uproar, but the controversy surrounding later episodes led to that episode being pulled as well. By the time the series made it to HBO Max and eventually Paramount+, those three episodes, along with parts one and two of Season 10’s “Cartoon Wars,” were nowhere to be found (Muhammad also factored into the “Cartoon Wars” storyline).
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