It was too real and raw. For those of you not familiar with the series, it is about a garbage man in Philadelphia, his wife who is a nurse, his brother who is a musician and somewhat a con man, and his father who was a train porter. Although it was a sitcom, it tackled some of the most difficult issues of the day (and still relevant today), ranging from racism, police brutality, infidelity, drug dealers coming into the neighborhood, to just trying to survive day to day. It was unique in that the second and third seasons were broadcasted live.
While the show is mainly a comedy, it does deal with issues regarding racism, gun violence, and gang activity within the neighborhood. The drama was effective... although the annoying executives at FOX preferred the show to focus mainly on comedy. There are some old articles in which Dutton said the execs wanted the show to be broad and slapstick like "Martin" or "In Living Color." (Translation: less focus on racial injustice and inner city issues, just focus on the laughs.)
This led to back-and-forth debates with Dutton and the network. Eventually, Fox decided to decrease advertising of the show and cancellation after Season 3.
We need more shows like this today with real topics and less shooking and jiving especially for the many kids dying everyday from gun violence.
