NBC is already making a habit of bending over backwards to avoid offending Donald Trump, but now ABC also has to make room for our new president. According to Variety, the network has been forced to abandon its plan to air the eight-hour LGBT rights miniseries When We Rise over four straight nights, as one of those nights will now be taken up by a Congressional address that Trump has just scheduled. Now, the first episode of When We Rise will air on February 27, then Trump’s address will air the next day, and then the show will wrap up its story over the next three nights.
Also, as Variety points out, there’s a sad bit of irony in a series about LGBT civil rights being sidelined for Trump, as the very Congress that he’ll be addressing is “mulling the reintroduction of a bill that would curb the ability of the federal government to penalize discrimination against LGBTQ or unmarried citizens.” In other words, while you’re waiting an extra day to see the next installment in When We Rise’s fight for equality, the real-life fight for equality might be taking a few major steps in the wrong direction.
On the other hand, When We Rise creator Dustin Lance Black did suggest earlier this month that Trump would like the show if he actually sat down to watch it, so maybe ABC is just shifting the schedule around so he’ll have a chance to check it out.