NBC Trims ‘Sisters’ Steam-Room Scene : Television: Network denies producers’ charge that it caved in to advertisers before next week’s premiere.

The producers of a drama series scheduled to debut on NBC next Saturday criticized the network Friday for deciding this week to delete the opening scene in order to respond to what the network described as “certain constituencies . . . that would find elements of the opening dialogue offensive.”

They said that the scene in the “Sisters” pilot had been in NBC’s hands for a year and had been approved for broadcast until objections were voiced by advertisers and affiliates.

The opening scene of “Sisters” was set in a steam room and featured a conversation about orgasms. The hourlong drama stars Swoosie Kurtz, Julianne Phillips, Sela Ward and Patricia Kalember and is scheduled to premiere next Saturday at 10 p.m.

“Considering that you can tune in your television any night and see women beaten, raped, shot and killed on police shows at 8 or 9 p.m., it seems unfortunate that you can’t turn on you television at 10 p.m. and see four adult women having an honest discussion about a perfectly normal bodily function,” said producer Ron Cowen, who created the series with partner Daniel Lipman.

NBC said that the decision to cut the scene was solely the network’s. “This wasn’t (a case of) advertisers pulled out, therefore we’re pulling (the scene). It’s kind of a preemptive strike,” said NBC spokeswoman Joann Alfano.

Alfano identified the “constituencies” that NBC was responding to as “viewers, advertisers and affiliates,” but gave no further specifics. She said that no sponsors had pulled commercials from “Sisters,” but added, “The potential for that might be there.”

Anita Addison, another of the series’ producers, said that NBC had had the pilot since last May and had approved it for broadcast because “the scene was shot tastefully and (was) not meant to be exploitative.”

“A reaction from advertisers a few days before the show is to air to change the course of what we’ve decided bothers me greatly,” she said. “It’s . . . setting a precedent that I think can be very dangerous.”