For the first few decades of television, sitcoms mostly stuck to the laughs. Write as many punchlines as you can for as many episodes as possible. In the ’70s, though, sitcoms started touching on sensitive and often taboo topics. While “All in the Family” was groundbreaking in that regard, so too was its backdoor spin-off “Maude,” starring Bea Arthur. But ironically, the most controversial episode of “Maude” wasn’t controversial at all when it first aired. In fact, it wasn’t until it was shown in reruns that people took notice.
“Maude,” considered one of the best spin-offs of all time, didn’t waste any time tackling controversy. Midway through Season 1, a two-part episode titled “Maude’s Dilemma” aired. In Part 1, Maude finds out she’s pregnant, and in Part 2, she resolves to get an abortion. The writer of the episode, Susan Harris, told Entertainment Weekly she was ecstatic to tackle the subject. “I thought it was a wonderful idea,” she said. “I thought it was something that absolutely should be addressed, and I liked tackling issues as well as entertaining. … I knew it would be an intense reaction [from viewers]. I knew people felt very strongly about it one way or the other, but something like that would never deter me.”
However, in an interview with the Television Academy, creator Norman Lear said the expected blowback didn’t happen right away. “These two episodes aired without any controversy or any problem,” he said. “Nothing significant at all.”
The second time around, the episode became a hot-button topic
While the initial airing of “Maude’s Dilemma” didn’t seem to ruffle any feathers, the re-airing of the two-part episode definitely did. Whereas only two CBS affiliates declined to show it the first time around, 39 affiliates declined to re-run it. Those decisions came when anti-abortion groups and religious organizations pressured sponsors to pull out of the show if the episode ran a second time. “This proves there’s a certain degree of cowardice in the American business community,” creator Norman Lear told The New York Times in 1973. “A few letters from pressure groups can make advertisers panic.”
Bea Arthur, who played Maude, said she received letters of protest when it came time for the re-airing of the episode, but they weren’t as nasty as you might think. “The amount of mail was incredible,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “I can’t call it hate mail, although there were a few that said, ‘Die, die,’ but most were intelligent people who were deeply offended, and very emotional about it.”
While the boycotts may have brought some unwanted attention to “Maude,” it certainly didn’t affect the ratings. The show finished Season 1 as a top-five show ratings-wise, and it would remain in the top 10 for its first four seasons, going down as one of the best shows Norman Lear ever created.
