US drama The Good Fight tried to mock Chinese state censorship. It got censored by its studio, CBS
- Show’s creators threatened to quit, eventually replacing section with eight-second place-holder that read ‘CBS has censored this content’
- Segment involved China’s 2014 ban on ‘The Good Wife’ and US studios removing content from international releases to avoid upsetting Chinese censors.
Popular legal drama The Good Fight has sparked some off-screen drama of its own, after a segment of the show that referenced censorship in China was cut when it aired in the US last week.
During the episode, which was broadcast on May 2, place-holding text that read “CBS has censored this content” was shown on screen in place of a short animated segment that satirically explained Chinese state censorship.
The show’s creators threatened to quit over the removal of the section, and now a British broadcaster has found itself caught up the self-censorship row as it prepares to air the episode in the UK.
The show is a spin-off of The Good Wife, and is known for its ripped-from-the-headline narratives, which are often inspired by contemporary real-life figures, including US President Donald Trump.
Set in a predominantly African-American law firm in New York, The Good Fight has been described as “entertainment for the resistance” by The New York Times, which said it is “the only TV show that reflects what life under Trump feels like for many of us who abhor him”.