UPN Affiliate Up in Air Over ‘Amish’ Show
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — UPN local affiliate WLYH-TV will view tape of the debut of “Amish in the City” before deciding whether to show the series.
“Is it exploitive? We’ll make that decision,” said Matt Uhl, WLYH general manager.
The reality series, which was to debut Wednesday night, features five Amish young people living with six Southern Californians in a house in the Hollywood Hills. The Amish youths are from Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. They are going through rumspringa, a rite of passage in which they experience life outside their secluded communities.
WLYH executives will convene a panel of educators and advertisers to view a tape Thursday and decide if the series is disrespectful to the religious group. The station will then decide whether to add the series to its lineup. “I hope we’ll be able to air it at its regular time, which is 8 p.m. Wednesdays,” Uhl said.
Uhl said WLYH has received about 1,000 phone calls, e-mails and letters evenly divided between airing and not airing the show.
Lancaster Mayor Charlie Smithgall and other Lancaster County politicians have urged Uhl not to air it. Congressman Joseph Pitts has accused UPN of taking advantage of vulnerable young people.
UPN’s Philadelphia affiliate, WPSG-TV, which can be seen in parts of Lancaster County, planned to carry Wednesday’s show.
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