Waaayyy back in 2003, an episode of ABC’s NYPD Blue aired an image of actress Charlotte Ross’ naked backside—a scene that earned a $1.21 million dollar fine from the FCC.
Nearly eight years later (!), the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the fine. In explaining its decision to overthrow that stiff penalty, the court borrowed the FCC’s own language in declaring that “nudity itself is not per se indecent.” The court also reiterated wording from a previous ruling on the FCC’s supposedly murky broadcast indecency rules, saying that the federal agency’s allegedly context-based understanding of what constitutes out-of-bounds content is “unconstitutionally vague.”
Lawrence Meyers, editor of the book Inside the TV Writers Room: Practical Advice for Succeeding in Television and former story editor of the ’90s CBS drama Picket Fences, speculated on the likely influence of the ruling in a Fox News article on the ruling:
“Because networks know that they won’t be fined for [showing bare buns on screen], they know that it is another tool in the arsenal to engage viewers. [The ruling] gives television producers and networks more freedom to do it if they wish. Because network ratings are in severe decline and have been for a number of years, they may try to pull out all the stops and say, ‘Let’s throw in as much nudity and swear words as we can out there,’ instead of focusing on playing great content, which they have not been doing.”
All of that to say, we may see more programs on broadcast television pushing the boundaries even further when it comes to the amount of skin on display.
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