ABC says its 'Are You Hot?' reality show was "in bad taste"

Reuters reports that the chairman of ABC's entertainment division told reporters that the network's Are You Hot? reality show was dropped from the summer schedule because "ultimately ... it was in bad taste." Instead, ABC will be emphasizing sitcoms and reruns over the summer ... with the exception of its forthcoming reality (or should it be "horror"?) series The Real Roseanne Show, featuring high priestess of bad taste Roseanne Barr.


So ... what is it about the bad taste of Are You Hot? that is so much more objectionable than the bad taste of Roseanne? Well, perhaps the real problem relates to Howard Stern's lawsuit alleging that the idea for Are You Hot? was brazenly stolen from his segment "The Evaluators." Trashing and cancelling the show may be a good litigating strategy --- and it's hard to argue that any show with roots in Howard Stern's shtick would be anything other than in bad taste.