This Friends Episode Was So Shocking NBC Hired 100+ People to Receive Complaints
They were painting the issue way bigger than it really was.
There's nothing that could shock viewers of the '90s television more than some LGBTQA+ representation. At least that's what producers were thinking, and that's exactly why so few ideas featuring queer characters found their way to audiences' screens.
There were some exceptions, however. NBC's Friends was one of them — the show dared to take the romance between Ross' ex-wife Carol Willick and her partner Susan Bunch into something more than just an established relationship.
Although the network knew exactly what risks they were taking by showing a lesbian wedding, they went ahead, and no one was disappointed. The episode "The One with the Lesbian Wedding" (S2E11) aired on January 18, 1996, and drew about 31 million viewers for the premiere.
There was no way such an episode could’ve aired without backlash. In fact, affiliate stations KJAC-TV in Port Arthur, Texas, and WLIO in Lima, Ohio, simply refused to show the episode because of their religious and social beliefs, questioning whether the content was morally acceptable (via THR).
Other than that, however, the episode didn't really generate any controversy at all, and all 104 customer service representatives NBC hired to register complaints received almost no calls. Throughout the whole night, there were just two registered.
It could be the fact that Friends wasn't the first sitcom to depict gay marriage, which meant that viewers weren’t as shocked, or that the action took place in New York, where such marriages were becoming more common at the time. Either way, people seemed to be completely unfazed by what they’d seen.
Besides, the focus of the episode wasn't on Carol and Susan at all, as Ross and his resentment of his ex-wife's new relationship stole the show. For anyone who felt uncomfortable, there was a supporting character on screen to share the negativity with, so it was relatively easy to get distracted.
Was this the perfect way to get lesbian couples on screen? Not at all. But it definitely allowed NBC and the team behind Friends to push the concept through.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter