Fox exec defends serial killer drama ‘The Following’ after questions of TV violence

Kevin Bacon stars in 'The Following' as an ex-FBI agent called out of retirement to track down a devious serial killer.
(FOX - FOX)
There have been shows on TV more violent than Fox's new serial killer drama "The Following," and "clearly there is an appetite — people like these things," Fox Entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly said Tuesday in defense of the show, noting last season's No. 1 scripted TV series was the AMC zombie drama "The Walking Dead."

"When you put on a thriller you have to compete at that level… We must match the intensity, otherwise we'll pale in comparison," Reilly told critics attending Winter TV Press Tour 2013, who'd asked him about the role of TV violence in our culture, in the wake of the murder of 20 children and several adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school last month.

"Before there was cable, Fox was cable," Reilly said, adding that it's his goal with shows like "The Following" to "get some of the Fox back in Fox."

"The Following," debuting Jan. 21, stars Kevin Bacon as a former FBI agent brought back into the fold to track down a serial killer he'd caught once before (James Purefoy) who has created a cult of killers around him.

The program "adheres to broadcast standards," Reilly said.

"If you put this [series] through the filter of Broadcast Standards there's nothing on that show we even had to fight over," Reilly said. "I didn't call [Fox's Standards and Practices Department] and say, 'Buckle up — this one's pushing the boundaries."

It trivializes the issue to link the deaths at Sandy Hook to television, and to broadcast television in particular, Reilly insisted.

"We have an FCC license and we take that seriously," he said, adding that Fox is open to an industry-wide discussion about violent content.

But, he said, "everyone is looking for a scapegoat, or wanting to put a finger on one thing that's the problem…We are just in an age of complex issues. It's no one simple thing."

And, CBS, consider yourself warned.

Two days after NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt, defend his new serial killer drama "Hannibal," said he thought his other serial killer drama "Dexter" (Greenblatt used to head programming at Showtime) was not as violent as CBS's "Criminal Minds," a TV critic asked Reilly if he thought "The Following" was as violent as "Criminal Minds."

The critics are coming after you.

Source: http://www.news.theusalinks.com/2013/01/08/fox-exec-defends-serial-killer-drama-the-following-after-questions-of-tv-violence/