China has never been championed for their progressive views, when it comes to TV regulations.
But now, the authorities in China are once again clamping down with even stricter rules – this time including censorship when it comes to online television.
The new guidelines layout new subjects that will shortly be prohibited. These include images of people in a same-sex relationship, depictions of drinking, and extreme vengeance, which will be banned from both the programming on TV and online.
So in other words, ALL the best bits from our favourite TV shows.
Here are just some of the great TV viewing that China would miss out on if these rules come into effect soon.
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It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia would be a whole different ballgame if Mac, Charlie and the gang weren’t constantly making poor (and often spiteful) life decisions based on excessive drinking. A lot of the show is set in Paddy’s Pub, but even when they step outside the office they can often be seen drinking wine from a coke can.
Mad Men takes place in a world full of liquid lunches, and fully stocked alcohol cabinets in the office (a bit like the world of media then?). So it’s not surprising that the characters spend much of their time with a glass in hand. Advertising mogul, Don Draper, is at first a fully functioning drunk; but things quickly unravel as the seasons progress.
The cast of How I Met Your Mother frequently converge in MacLaren’s pub and are often seen sharing a beer or two and catching up. The Irish bar in New York frames a lot of the action, and Barney is rarely seen without a drink in hand – so much so that the internet is awash with HIMYM drinking games.
A lesson in vengeance, House of Cards sees a vindictive Frank Underwood take down all those who prevented him from taking his seat as Secretary of State through a series of undertakings and power-plays. The show is entertaining as all hell, and together with wife Claire, the Underwood’s are about as manipulative and ruthless as you can get.
The premise of the show may have started out with Walt trying to earn some dough to provide for his family in the even of his death. But once his pride got in the way, Breaking Bad quickly became a show about huge grievances and an eye-for-an-eye mentality. In fact the series culminates in the ultimate act of vengeance (no spoilers for the four people out there who haven’t seen it yet).
Orange is the New Black has been lauded by critics for its diversity, and in particular its many roles for the LGBT community. The show features many lesbian and bi-sexual women of various gender, shape and size struggling to make friends, find love and just get by on the inside, all of whom are depicted honestly and affectionately.
Hannah’s ex-boyfriend, Elijah, reveals that he is gay in the first season of Girls. And while the pair struggle to move past this initially, they later reunite and share a ton of amazing scenes, like the one in which the pair experiment with drugs, exchange clothes and dance the night away at a rave. Your loss, China.
Many of the characters in Modern Family have won Emmy Awards for their portrayals over the course of its seven seasons. But two firm favourites of the mockumentary have to be Mitchell and Cameron Tucker, a gay couple who adopt their Vietnamese daughter, Lily, after dating for many years.
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