Sunday, October 1, 2017

Prime Time

KJ Apa from Entertainment Weekly

Television has always promoted their Prime Time hunks. From those shirtless nighttime soap hotties and those tight jean wearing Duke boys in the 80's through the hottie demons and supernatural hunters currently dominating the CW. What is relatively new though is the amount of nudity we now enjoy on our television sets.

Sterling K Brown

It used to be the only way to see a naked man on screen was in the movies, or via renting or downloading. Today, prime time is full of naked men. HBO and cable have always shown small amounts of skin, but today, it is almost a requirement for all of their television series.

American Horror Story: Cult
Evan Peters giving Billy Eichner an eye full

Although networks dipped their toes in the water in the 90's and early 2000's with quick flashes of skin on shows like NYPD Blue and even The Young & the Restless, the trend was short lived. In part, it may be due to the FCC, NYPD Blue was fined $1.2 million for showing a naked ass in a 2003 episode. Although the fine was nullified, networks seem nervous to again take the risk.

Colton Haynes

TV continues to teeter along the boundaries, and I think it's only a matter of time before networks give nudity another try. With cable shows like Game of Thrones, which owes some of its buzz due to it's hot cast and occasional nude scenes, networks will be looking for ways to compete. It's interesting that although on most cable shows, female nude nudity out number male nudity, on network, it is more likely to see skin from the male cast members. If you look at a show like Riverdale, it is more likely the male cast who skin. The show has pretty much gotten Archie (KJ Apa) about as naked as is possible on a network show.

Ron Melendez


Alan Ritchson in Blood Drive

Sam Heughan in Outlander
Caps via Xander7

Kit Harington in Game of Thrones

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