10 TV Shows So Controversial They Were Banned

If there’s one thing to know about showbiz, it’s that you can’t please everyone. Some movies people love, other people can’t stand. Some classic TV favorites are considered red flags in dating profiles. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and usually that’s as far as things go. However, there are times when opinion turns into controversy, and when that kind of feedback becomes widespread, networks and distributors tend to cut their losses. When that sort of controversy happens to a television show, the offending episode ends up on the chopping block.

What we’re talking about here is, of course, banning. Plenty of TV shows go their entire run without stirring up too much hoopla, but there are many popular and beloved shows that have seen certain episodes seemingly wink out of existence due to some uproar or another. Sometimes networks pull episodes from the rotation because too many people complained, or sometimes the episodes aren’t aired at all due to unforeseen outside circumstances. Whatever the reason, it can make things tough for the completists out there.

These episodes aren’t necessarily bad — in fact, most of them, despite their controversial subject matter, happen to be really good — but pushing the limits of what you can do in a medium like TV will inevitably court controversy. These episodes can still be watched wherever you can find them, and in many cases have been made available on streaming services or home video. But there was a time when they were nearly lost media. These are the ten most controversial ones:

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