LGBT-inclusive Pulled From NBC's Schedule

NBC has pulled its drama The Playboy Club, one of the most LGBT-inclusive series on network television, from its Monday lineup due to low ratings, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The series takes place in early 1960s Chicago and stars actress Amber Heard as a Playboy bunny, and out actor Sean Maher as a closeted gay men married to a closeted lesbian and involved in the pioneering gay rights organization, the Mattachine Society.

Due to what it perceived as suggestive content, the series drew the ire of the conservative watch dog group Parents Television Council, which called for a boycott and asked sponsors to pull their advertisements from the show.

Show runner Chad Hodge explained his vision for the series, which featured lavish musical numbers. "I think there was a perception that we were trying to do something politically ambitious or make a statement or make this a show about empowering women, which sounds super boring to me, " Hodge tells THR. "That sounds like a documentary, which this certainly is not. This is more like Chicago, Moulin Rouge, and All That Jazz, Desperate Housewives. This is a fun, sexy soap."

The time slot will be filled by Rock Center, a news magazine hosted by Brian Williams, beginning October 31.