Hugh Hefner and the Parents Television Council agree on one thing, at least — that NBC never should have aired "The Playboy Club."
The Playboy publisher reflected on Tuesday's cancellation of the series — set at the Playboy Club in Chicago in the 1960s — via his Twitter shortly after the news, opining that the series was a very poor fit for network television.
Also read: PTC Crows About "Playboy Club" Cancellation
"I'm sorry NBC's 'The Playboy Club' didn't find it's audience," Hefner wrote. "It should have been on cable, aimed at a more adult audience."
The beleaguered series — which starred Amber Heard and Eddie Cibrian — had a lot more to contend with than just poor ratings. It sputtered from the start and slipped further from there. The show met resistance from all sides of the ideological spectrum, with both feminist icon Gloria Steinem and conservative-leaning Parents Television Council calling for boycotts of the series.
NBC even felt push-back from its own affiliates, with Salt Lake City station KSL-TV refusing to air the program.
Whether due to the faltering numbers — the series posted an anemic 1.2 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic for its final episode Monday — or the pressure from outside forces, the series also saw advertisers flee from the series, with seven sponsors pulling up stakes following the show's Sept. 19 premiere.