PTC Applauds Fox Network’s Cancellation of “The Mick” and Renewal of “Last Man Standing”

The Parents Television Council welcomed the news that Fox Broadcasting canceled “The Mick,” that for two seasons consistently marketed adult content to children and routinely put child characters in extremely adult situations. The PTC also heralded the return of “Last Man Standing” to the airwaves, which it called for almost a year ago. Episodes of “The Mick” featured child characters “sexting,” discussing child pornography, and having threesomes; the show has also promoted drinking and drug use, among other adult content, and was rated as appropriate for children. “Following last year’s Network Upfront presentations, we called on Fox to cancel its edgy sitcom ‘The Mick’ and replace it with the family-friendly hit series ‘Last Man Standing.’ Although it took a year longer than it needed to, we are heartened to learn that Fox has delivered this very solution for families concerned about toxic programming on the public airwaves,” said PTC President Tim Winter. “Every TV network should view the commercial failure of ‘The Mick’ as an important learning opportunity. Hollywood cannot applaud and embrace the #MeToo era while simultaneously asking its audience to be amused and entertained by the same repulsive behavior that spawned the movement to begin with. Even worse, ‘The Mick’ was using its child actors to deliver much of the most sexualizing program content. “The Fox Broadcast Network invested heavily to help promote ‘The Mick.’ But as the national viewing audience became increasingly aware of the program’s disturbing themes, fewer and fewer people watched. And by our last count, more than 40 corporations ceased their advertiser support for the show after being contacted by the PTC and its members. We applaud those corporate sponsors for demonstrating their social responsibility. “While ‘Last Man Standing’ may not be squeaky-clean, the show’s content is far more appropriate for a primetime broadcast viewing audience. Today we publicly thank Fox for making this programming decision, and we call on all of the television networks to keep families in mind as they make programming decisions for the upcoming season.”