Welcome to the Neighborhood (TV series)

Contestant Steve Wright (right) with judge Jim Stewart (center) pictured in Circle C Ranch

Set in Circle C Ranch, an upscale subdivision of Austin, Texas, the series depicted a group of seven families of various ethnicities, races, and religions in competition for a house in a suburban neighborhood.[1] The coveted house was a 3,300-square-foot, four bedroom, 2.5 bath home valued at over $300,000 (equivalent to $403,252 in 2021).[2] The families in competition included a religious African American family (the Crenshaws); a white Wiccan family (the Eckhardts); an energetic Latino family (the Gonzalezes); an Asian family that runs a sushi restaurant (the Lees); a conservative white tattoo-covered family (the Sheets); a white gay couple with an adopted African American infant (the Wrights); and a white family in which the mother is a stripper (the Morgans).[2][3] The families were required to participate in a series of interviews, competitions, and social interactions that were intended to show how well each family would assimilate into the neighborhood.[2][4] Several of the challenges included setting up carnival booths on the cul-de-sac and decorating lawns.[5] The performance of the families were judged by a panel of three conservative white families that resided in the neighborhood (the Stewarts, Daniels, and Bellamys).[4] Each week the neighbors eliminated a competing family from the competition.[4] Whichever family the neighbors designated as the winner of the episode's challenges, however, was awarded a "free pass" that exempted them from elimination that week.[2] The final remaining family was awarded the house and moved into Circle C Ranch.[4] The series was narrated by American voice actor David O'Brien.[6]

Welcome to the Neighborhood was announced by ABC on April 27, 2005, as a summer replacement for Desperate Housewives.[7] The network issued a press release which emphasized the traditional nature of the Circle C Ranch residents, in which it claimed that they "are used to a certain kind of neighbor - one who looks and thinks just like them".[8] The series was heavily promoted,[9] with advertisements similarly emphasizing the "nontraditional" nature of the competing families.[10] In one of the commercials, Jim Stewart, the head of one of the three judging families, stated "I will not tolerate a homosexual couple coming into this neighborhood."[10] The series' advertisements quickly drew criticism from media commentators and civil rights groups, who deemed the series as racist and homophobic.[11]

Welcome to the Neighborhood drew sharp criticism from television critics and advocacy groups. Most television critics deemed the series to be an "embarrassing debacle",[10] while advocacy groups, such as GLAAD, the Family Research Council (FRC), and the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), believed it to be a cause for concern.[12] Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly claimed the series lacked creativity, in which he stated that the first few episodes were "simply challenging to watch."[5] GLAAD condemned the series' portrayal of intolerance toward gay men in the first few episodes and found the competition to be "unnecessarily cruel and insensitive".[12] The organization, however, never called for cancellation of the series[13] and believed that the producers had "admirable" intentions.[12] The NFHA expressed concern that attributes such as race, religion, and sexual orientation were being considered as factors in the awarding of a house, in which they alleged potential violations of the Fair Housing Act.[12] Shanna Smith, the president and CEO of the NFHA, claimed that the group was prepared to commence litigation against ABC if the series were to air.[12] The FRC voiced concern that evangelicals may be portrayed as "judgmental and foolish" throughout the series.[14] The series also experienced backlash from right-wing activists, who claimed it was "unbalanced" against conservatives.[13]

Several families who resided in Circle C Ranch expressed their own frustrations with the negative reception the series garnered. John and Steve Wright, the gay couple with an adopted African-American son, ultimately won the series and moved into Circle C Ranch; the Wrights claimed that the series portrayed a gay couple in a positive light and they were "devastated" viewers would not witness this depiction.[13] Stewart claimed the series' advertisements unfairly portrayed Circle C Ranch's residents as "one-dimensional characters", although he believed a full viewing of the series added more depth to the neighborhood residents.[10] Stewart further explained that the series allowed him to overcome his own homophobia and to reconnect with his estranged gay son.[1] Several Circle C Ranch residents expressed concern on online community bulletin boards that the series' negative press would tarnish the neighborhood's reputation and lower property values.[10] According to Faye Rencher, a black woman who moved into Circle C Ranch shortly after the series' announcement, the advertisements "painted the neighborhood like they were these judgmental, upper-class, white suburban people".[10] Rencher explained, however, that she found the advertisements to be misleading; she believed the neighborhood was "real nice" and she shared common ground with many of its families.[10]

On June 30, 2005, ABC announced that it had shelved the series due to "sensitivity of the subject matter".[15] A spokesperson defended the network's intention to "confront preconceived notions" throughout the series, however, they acknowledged that the episodic nature of this process was potentially challenging to viewers.[16] This announcement came only ten days before the series was set to air.[9] Despite the fierce backlash the series received from advocacy groups, producers Bill and Eric Kennedy claimed that these protests had no impact on its cancellation; the producers claimed that ABC was "confident" it had legal standing to give away a house as a reward.[9] Rather, the producers alleged that The Walt Disney Company, ABC's owner, shelved the series over concern that Evangelical Christians may boycott Disney's then-upcoming film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe due to the series' portrayal of evangelicals and gay men.[9] The producers alleged that Disney sought to gather church support for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe after four religious groups had lifted longtime boycotts of the company, and the company feared Welcome to the Neighborhood could complicate religious support for the film.[9] ABC spokesperson Kevin Brockman denied these claims, however, he acknowledged that the network's stated reason for the series' cancellation was "unconvincing".[9]

The cancellation of Welcome to the Neighborhood was met with mixed reactions from advocacy groups. Some groups such as the NHFA were "elated" over its cancellation,[4] while others such as GLAAD expressed interest in the broadcast of a revised version of the series.[16] ABC explored the idea of airing a condensed version of the series, which placed the "positive ending" in closer proximity to the "edgier early episodes".[17] Fox Reality Channel also reached out to ABC with an offer to broadcast the series, however, ABC rejected this proposition.[18] Steve McPherson, the President of ABC Entertainment, claimed that Welcome to the Neighborhood would not be "responsible to be broadcast" and thus he did not want to sell the series to another network.[19] In 2009, Variety reported that ABC was still interested in airing the series.[20] In October 2006, the Jay & Tony Show, one of the series' production companies, signed a seven-figure deal with Warner Horizon Television and announced their intentions to produce a new reality television show loosely inspired by Welcome to the Neighborhood.[21] Producer Jay Blumenfield commented: "We wanted to take Welcome to the Neighborhood to the next level — and actually get it on the air."[21] The series focused on "build[ing] an entire town from scratch", in which the audience would give input on how to build the town's community.[21] There has been no further reports about this planned series since its announcement.

An adaptation of the series titled Willkommen in der Nachbarschaft (German; the English title is Welcome to the Neighborhood) aired in Germany on RTL II. The six-episode season premiered on October 1, 2007, and concluded on November 5, 2007.[22] The series followed five diverse families in competition for a house in Buckow, Berlin worth €250,000 (US$251,0923).[23] The families included a man married to two separate women; two punks who own seven rats; a family with two children, two dogs, and a tarantula; a family in which one of the parents is transexual; and a family of ten from Palestine.[24] Contrary to the original series, each episode of the adaptation individually focused on one of the five families living in the coveted house. Each family moved into the house on a trial basis, in which nine families residing in the neighborhood assessed how well each competing family integrated into the neighborhood.[23] The neighbors also assigned the families tasks, such as landscaping or organizing street festivals in the neighborhood. At the end of the series, the nine judging families voted on which competing family should move into their neighborhood.[23] The family with a transexual parent ultimately won the competition.[24]

Willkommen in der Nachbarschaft premiered to 720,000 viewers,[25] although its viewership decreased over the course of the season.[26] The series generally received negative reception, in which it was derided by media commentators, actors, and politicians alike.[22] Uwe Felgenhauer of Die Welt criticized the series as a "perfidious experiment".[23] Martin Häusler of Hörzu alleged that the series reinforced stereotypes and he called on RTL II to shelve it prior to the premiere.[22] Frank Henkel, the Secretary General of the Christian Democratic Union, claimed that the series promoted racism and asserted that it should be prohibited from airing.[27] Maria Böhmer, the Minister of State in the Federal Foreign Office, alleged that the series promoted "prejudices against immigrants and homosexuals."[22] Actor Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss similarly criticized the series, in which he called on Böhmer and Chancellor Angela Merkel to take action against the series.[22] In response, RTL II's program director Axel Kühn claimed that the series was never intended to discriminate against anyone.[27] Despite this negative reception, the series received a nomination in the Reality category at the 2008 Rose d'Or.[28]

A second season premiered on August 26, 2008, in which five diverse families competed for a €300,000 (US$328,713) house in Ruhr.[29] The families included a card reader mother of four who is supported by her younger husband (the Sommers); a tattooed family with an interest in unusual body piercings and pets (the Falks); a family of three that designs waterbeds (the Schulz); a family of seven, six of whom are women (the Neigers); and four dancers who want to share the house as friends (collectively referred to as "the shared flat").[30] The season was intended to run for six episodes, with German television presenter Aleksandra Bechtel set to serve as the host for a live season finale on September 30, 2008.[29] The season premiere, however, garnered only 590,000 viewers, which was below the network's expectations.[31] While the viewership increased to 630,000 for the third episode,[32] RTL II ultimately decided to cancel the series and thus the final three episodes remained unaired.[33]

• List of television series canceled before airing an episode

• Official website at the Wayback Machine
• Welcome to the Neighborhood at IMDb