When art inadvertently mirrors life, there can be consequences. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most notable television episodes that were either delayed or completely taken off broadcast schedules in response to real-life tragedies.
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00:00I did a lot of research on Jebediah Springfield, and...
00:03I think I can pick her off.
00:05Wait, let's see what she has to say.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be looking at the most notable television
00:10episodes that were either delayed or completely taken off broadcast schedules
00:14in response to real-life tragedies.
00:16Don't shoot.
00:18It's okay.
00:20You're home now.
00:20Put the gun down, Christopher.
00:23Point of Impact, Shooter
00:24Bob Lee Swagger is still the deadliest sniper I've ever known.
00:28You're home now.
00:29Based on a series of thriller novels by Stephen Hunter, this USA Network show
00:32follows a retired Marine Corps sniper who was framed for shooting at the president.
00:37The series was scheduled to premiere on July 19, 2016,
00:40with the first episode reportedly opening with scenes of gun violence.
00:43However, on July 7, the man ambushed and shot a group of police officers in Texas,
00:47killing five people and injuring 11 others.
00:49This morning, county offices and many businesses downtown are closed as a precaution.
00:54One of the snipers had claimed that there were bombs planted downtown,
00:58but so far police are saying that no explosives have been found.
01:01In response to this tragedy, the network postponed the premiere by one week,
01:04out of respect for the victims and their families.
01:06It was further delayed indefinitely after another
01:09shooting of police officers occurred in Louisiana on July 17.
01:12The headline of The Advocate here in Baton Rouge says it all,
01:16senseless. The carnage began here behind me after police officers responded
01:20to a 911 call about a suspicious-looking man carrying guns.
01:24The show ultimately made it to air in November.
01:27Episode number 85, The Joey Bishop Show
01:34On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was riding through Dallas, Texas,
01:39in a presidential motorcade when he was fatally shot by Lee Harvey Oswald.
01:43President Kennedy and Governor John Connally have been cut down by assassin's bullets in
01:47downtown Dallas. They were riding in an open automobile when the shots were fired.
01:51The assassination had several national and international repercussions,
01:54but one of its lesser-known consequences was that it led to an episode of The Joey Bishop Show
01:59essentially disappearing forever.
02:00Exactly one week before the tragic incident, the sitcom filmed episode number 85,
02:05featuring comedian and impressionist Vaughn Meador, who is famous for impersonating Kennedy.
02:09I've loved your show very much, Jackie and I. You watch it all the time.
02:13When are you going to have Peter Lawford back?
02:14This episode was scheduled to air in February 1964,
02:17but it was quickly scrapped and reportedly destroyed following Kennedy's assassination.
02:22The tragedy also ended Meador's career as his subsequent TV appearances were cancelled,
02:26forcing him to move back to his hometown in Maine.
02:30Still, Castle
02:31In this season 5 episode of ABC's Castle, Detective Kate Beckett accidentally triggers
02:36a bomb after stepping on it, leaving her team to work together to disarm it.
02:40What was that?
02:41Castle.
02:44I think I'm standing on a bomb.
02:46The episode, which was one of the final installments of the season,
02:48was set to air on April 22, 2013. However, a week before the air date,
02:53two brothers planted bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon,
02:56which killed three people and left hundreds injured.
02:58President Obama addresses the country, vowing to find those responsible.
03:03Make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this.
03:06In response, the show's producers decided to delay the bomb-themed episode by one week,
03:10swapping it with that which was originally slated to air after it.
03:13As a result, viewers ultimately watched the NYPD disarm their on-screen bomb on April 29.
03:18She's off.
03:19She's off.
03:25Quarantined Crab, SpongeBob SquarePants
03:35In 2020, the world was brought to a standstill by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic,
03:39which has since caused over 7 million confirmed deaths.
03:42Interestingly, before the global outbreak, the writers of SpongeBob SquarePants crafted
03:46a similar scenario in an episode titled Quarantine Crab that was scheduled to air in 2020.
03:51In the episode, a health inspector quarantines patrons of the Krusty
03:54Crab after an outbreak of clam flu.
03:56Just as I feared, someone in this restaurant is infected with the highly contagious clam flu.
04:05As the real-life pandemic spread in early 2020, the network decided to delay the episode,
04:09postponing its release for two years.
04:25In a similar vein, the penultimate second season episode of the medical drama New Amsterdam,
04:30which centered around a flu outbreak, was also pulled from NBC's schedule.
04:34The Gift, Alternatino with Arturo Castro
04:50This Comedy Central sketch show followed the experiences of comedian Arturo Castro,
04:54a Latino millennial living in the U.S.
04:56The episode of The Gift featured a sketch which
04:59attempted to tackle the issue of gun violence in America.
05:01Castro plays a Guatemalan immigrant in a cultural assimilation class,
05:05gradually realizing just how prevalent and seemingly random mass shootings can be.
05:22Coincidentally, just two days before the episode was set to air on July 30, 2019,
05:26a gunman opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California,
05:30claiming the lives of three people.
05:31Due to this tragic event, Comedy Central decided to delay the episode
05:35and air the following week's installment instead.
05:4536 Hours, Numbers
05:56Originally planned as the fourth episode in the fifth season of Numbers,
05:5936 Hours focused on a collision between a passenger train and a freight train,
06:03suspected to be an act of terrorism.
06:05The episode would have been broadcast on October 24, 2008,
06:08but it was ultimately pushed back several weeks, airing as the eighth episode on November 21.
06:13This postponement occurred because just two weeks after the episode was filmed,
06:16a real-life train collision happened in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles.
06:25Given the similar plotlines and the fact that the show was also set in Los Angeles,
06:29the episode was pushed back and its script was also revised to ensure continuity.
06:41In fact, about the only thing we do know for certain is that
06:48this will be impossible to fix.
06:50The cyber-thriller series debuted in 2015 to rave reviews from critics
06:54and quickly built a cult following.
06:55After nine captivating episodes, fans eagerly anticipated the first season finale,
07:00scheduled to air on August 26, 2015.
07:02However, earlier that day, WDBJ news reporter Allison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward
07:08were tragically killed by a gunman while conducting a live interview in Virginia.
07:26By chance, the Mr. Robot season ender that was set to air that night included a scene
07:31featuring a man taking his own life during a TV interview.
07:34This unfortunate parallel with the real-life tragedy led the USA Network to postpone the
07:38episode by one week, rescheduling it for September 2.
07:42The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson – The Simpsons
07:52As the longest-running American sitcom, The Simpsons has gained notoriety for
07:55seemingly predicting future events.
07:57This claim resurfaced after the September 11 attacks.
08:00Four years prior, the ninth season premiere, The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson,
08:04featured the titular family heading off to New York City to find their car.
08:11A significant portion of the episode centered around the World Trade Center and included
08:24a scene that some believe foreshadowed the tragedy.
08:27Consequently, after the attacks, the episode was pulled from syndication for five years.
08:31Likewise, following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in July 2024,
08:43the season 7 episode Lisa the Iconoclast was removed from airing in the UK
08:47due to an eerily similar scene where a law enforcement officer targets Lisa.
08:58Hannibal
09:01The Hannibal
09:08Throughout its acclaimed three-season run, NBC's Hannibal consistently pushed the
09:12boundaries of network television, offering horror fans an unprecedented level of gore.
09:16So when an episode was pulled from the broadcast schedule,
09:19one might assume it was due to a ratings violation.
09:21However, the actual reason for removing the first season episode, Oof, was that series
09:25creator Brian Fuller was concerned about potential parallels to the recent Sandy Hook tragedy.
09:29This was because the storyline revolved around a group of kids being brainwashed by an unnamed
09:34woman to eliminate their families and join hers. The episode was pulled from airing in the US just
09:45hours before its scheduled time, although it was still broadcast in other countries.
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10:13Earshot and Graduation Day Part 2 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
10:16On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, two students at Columbine High School in Colorado,
10:22committed a heinous act of violence, claiming 13 lives and injuring several others.
10:29In the wake of the tragedy, many influential figures blamed the incident on the media's
10:33portrayal of violence. Just one week later, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode Earshot
10:37was set to air, featuring a student assembling a rifle, but it was delayed until September.
10:48The third season finale, Graduation Day Part 2, also depicted school violence and was pulled
10:53from the schedule just two hours before its airing. This last-minute decision infuriated
11:05fans, leading to numerous letters being sent to the network. The episode is finally broadcast
11:09nearly two months after its original date. Has any of your favorite shows delayed an
11:14episode due to a real-life event? Let us know in the comments below.
11:35And as always, thanks for watching!