The broadcast of “Sex and the City,” a hugely popular American sitcom, on VTV2 – the education and science channel of national broadcaster Vietnam Television – will be delayed for one week, while mixed reactions to the airing are widespread. 

>> Mixed reactions to Vietnam Television’s decision to broadcast “Sex and the City”

A channel representative said late last week that “Sex and the City” would air at 11:00 pm three days a week – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, starting next Monday.

The show will be labeled 18+ and intended for adults only, the representative noted, assuring culturally inappropriate scenes, or even whole episodes, will be omitted, but many gender issues would be retained.

However, the broadcast has been delayed until November 17, according to VTV.

“Sex and the City” is a 94-episode American romantic TV series sitcom which won seven of its 54 Emmy Award nominations, eight of its 24 Golden Globe Award nominations, and three of its 11 Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

Set and filmed in New York City and based on the book of the same name by Candace Bushnell, the original show follows the lives of a group of four women – three in their mid-thirties and one in her forties – who, despite their different natures and ever-changing sex lives, remain inseparable and confide in each other.

Broadcast on HBO from 1998 until 2004, the quirky series had multiple continuing storylines that tackled relevant and modern social issues such as sexuality, safe sex, promiscuity and femininity while exploring the difference between friendships and romantic relationships.

Vietnamese film directors, producers, scriptwriters, lawyers, and psychologists have voiced their opinions on the forthcoming broadcast.

An opinion poll launched on the online version of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper yielded nearly 3,000 comments by 9:00 pm on Monday.

Specifically, out of the 2,871 comments, up to 1,404, or 48.9 percent, support the broadcast.

The proponents said that there is nothing wrong or inappropriate about VTV2 – a science and education channel – airing such shows late at night and helping to promote sex education.

Many expressed their delight at VTV2’s receptiveness to sensitive films, which have long gone unnoticed on local TV channels.

They also concurred that the planned airing is compatible with current global and regional trends of segmenting TV viewers and catering to each segment’s particular needs.

Several stressed that the uproar from parents about the upcoming broadcast may add to teenagers’ undesirable curiosity.

Meanwhile, 871 respondents, or 30.3 percent, in Tuoi Tre’s poll objected to the broadcast.

They noted that the show, intended for sex educational purposes, will actually arouse young people’s curiosity and provoke their sexual lust.  

This group urged that VTV2 produce other beneficial programs on sex education instead of airing such a show.

Several stressed that the 15-minute talks, which will follow each episode and discuss at length the sexual matters covered in the episode, will make the situation even more ridiculous.

In the meantime, 596 respondents, or 20.8 percent, of the poll are supportive of the airing but called for great caution in editing and censoring its content.

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