The CW reins in steamy sex scene on ‘Reign’
It was a steamy scene that never made it to screen.
The pilot for the CW’s new drama, “Reign,” originally featured a scene where a young handmaiden pleasures herself in an abandoned stairwell. That scene didn’t make the final cut, though.
The show takes place in a massive castle and follows the early life of Mary, Queen of Scots in 16th century France. The offending scene happens after the Queen of Scotland (Adelaide Kane) and her ladies-in-waiting secretly spy on the “bedding ceremony” of a just-married couple.
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Afterward they separate to look for a little action themselves. Some find it with others. Only one of them, Kenna (Caitlin Stasey), decides to rely on herself. That is, until she’s interrupted by the King of France (Alan van Sprang), who happily lends her an assist.
The version of that scene that will go to air this week is a shadow of its former self, with Kenna’s actions simply hinted at.
Was the scene actually too racy for the CW? We’re talking about the network that ran the famous “Gossip Girl” OMFG campaign on buses and billboards across the country in 2008.
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“Every parent’s nightmare,” the Boston Globe wrote of the show at the time, which the CW quickly co-opted to feature on highly sexualized posters.
So why is fairly explicit sex between two people acceptable on TV when flying solo is not? The question has prompted a bit of online flap.
The Times’ reached the CW for comment, but the network declined.
Maybe the truth is that nothing generates more heat for a new show better than a good controversy.
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