LOS ANGELES (March 8, 2016) – The Parents Television Council is warning
families about the violent content on the premiere episode of ABC’s Of Kings and Prophets airing tonight, March 8, after
previewing the first episode in the Biblical miniseries.
The PTC’s review indicated that the first episode contains a number of battles with swords, knives, spears, and other graphically violent content
that ranges between the type of violent content found in
The
Lord of the Rings
movies and
300. There is some mild sexual content in the first episode. As such, the PTC cannot recommend this show for children.
“Despite the fact that the miniseries is based on a book that most families
in America have at home – that book being the Bible – parents should be
forewarned that Of Kings and Prophets will not be appropriate for family viewing. While we are grateful that the show runner, Chris
Brancato, personally invited us to preview the first episode, it remains difficult for us to recommend this show to families given the graphic content. And
given Mr. Brancato said that he’ll be ‘
fighting with broadcast standards and practices
’ and that ‘
we’re going to go as far as we can’
throughout the series, there’s likely to be even more explicit content in upcoming episodes,” said PTC President Tim Winter.
“The real question here is, why wouldn’t ABC and the show’s producers want to reach the largest audience possible by making a series,
based on the Bible, able to be viewed by families? Instead it appears that their primary objective was to be edgy and explicit, rather than to entertain
with a biblical story. And in so doing, they’re carving away a large percentage of their potential market. This further demonstrates a disconnect
between what the entertainment industry wants to produce and what family audiences want to consume.”
Dave Johnson, a writer, producer, and PTC advisory board member, made the point this way: “I don’t believe that you have to be gratuitous to
tell a story accurately or compellingly.
Patton
is still considered one of the greatest movies ever made. When I saw it, I didn’t come out of it saying that he [George C. Scott in the role of
General George S. Patton] didn’t swear as much as Patton did in real life, so I didn’t like it. That’s just one example. Those little
things are not what makes a movie compelling – especially for families. You can certainly tell a riveting story without having to go there. As a
creator of content, I understand those are simply choices,” he said.
Mr. Winter added, “We hope that families will be forewarned about the content of this show and not mistakenly watch with their children. No doubt the
network will rate the program TV-14, suggesting to parents that the material is appropriate for children as young as fourteen.”
Last week, the PTC
alerted the nation’s top 200 advertisers
about adult content anticipated on Of Kings and Prophets, which the show runner
compared
to HBO’s explicit Game of Thrones, saying, “It’s suspenseful.
It’s extraordinarily violent. It’s sexual. … We’ve sought to make the show
modern…This is a non-dragon version of Game of Thrones."