‘Best Funeral Ever’ Postponed Until January Following Newtown Shooting

TLC has decided to move its upcoming reality television program Best Funeral Ever to January in the wake of the Newtown shooting, Deadline reports.

Since airing the program after the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School could be construed as insensitive, executives have made the decision to bump the show until early next year. Instead of December 27, the show will now air after the Honey Boo Boo Halloween Special in January.

According to The Washington Post, the show follows the employees of the Golden Gate Funeral Home. The company offers a wide variety of different themes, ranging from Christmas to Doo Wop.

The Disney Channel, TLC’s parent company, recently made some schedule adjustments of its own. Although most people seemed to think the network canned American Guns in wake of the Newtown shootings, a representative for the company said the cancellation was unrelated.

According to The Christian Post, the network’s Facebook page became swamped with angry messages regarding American Guns shortly after the Sandy Hook shooting took place.

“I know you all have to make money but would Discovery Channel PLEASE consider ceasing to broadcast the show in the U.K.? Sadly your program makes buying/owning guns seem fun, glamorous, even normal,” one angry Facebook user wrote.

Since Discovery and TLC don’t want any backlash surrounding Best Funeral Ever, it’s not entirely surprising that the show has been bumped to January 6. However, that date might still be a little too early given that funerals for the Newtown victims just began on Monday.

The Discovery Channel isn’t the only network that was forced to make some last minute changes to its lineup. SyFy canceled an violent episode of Haven in wake of the massacre while FOX decided to pull potentially offensive airings of Family Guy and American Dad.

Do you agree that TLC should have postponed Best Funeral Ever? Do you think January is too soon to air the show?