Major media outlets censor content deemed offensive, controversial, or upsetting to viewers. Sometimes, networks pull content featuring actors who run into trouble or legal action. But, since we are a curious population, we want to watch what we can't. Here are 25 episodes of previously banned television shows you can watch on different streaming platforms today.
1- Beavis and Butthead: “Comedians”
Mike Judge's creation found a home as a weird 90s cartoon about two friends who don't quite understand the world. The superior of the duo, Beavis, has an affixation for fire and mutters a sequence of, “Fire! Fire! Fire!” when he sees flames.
Allegedly, a five-year-old watched the episode and ended up burning his house and killing his two-year-old sister. The mother blamed the television show, but the evidence proved the child never watched Beavis and Butthead.
You can watch the episode on YouTube.
2- Beavis and Butthead: “Home Improvement”
Another banned episode of the polarizing show is “Home Improvement.” The season two episode featured the best friends helping their neighbor by offering to paint the house. As the boys do, they stumble into trouble and sniff paint thinner, referencing drug use, which lead to the censorship. The boys also painted a cat's rear in the episode.
You can also watch this episode on YouTube.
3- Beavis and Butthead: “Heroes”
Beavis and Butthead waddle into a gun shop and purchase a weapon after lying to the worker about their age. The teenagers point their new weapon at everything they see and accidentally shoot down an airplane. After 9/11, the network pulled the episode, which remained hidden after school shootings.
Like the other two censored episodes, you can see this one on YouTube.
4- Daria: “Fat Like Me”
Daria is the more favored character in the Beavis and Butthead universe. Her sarcasm and monotonous voice led to a spin off featuring her life as an outsider in a world full of annoying people.
“Fat Like Me” aired in the fifth and final season of the animated show and centered around Sandi, the leader of the fashion club. She made a rule that you must maintain a certain weight for acceptance into the club, but when she breaks her leg, she doesn't fall within the reigns of the weight limit.
Watch on Paramount Plus.
5- Tiny Toon Adventures: “Elephant Issues”
Buster attempts to show young viewers what happens when you consume too much alcohol and if you use the substance underage. A trio drinks, steals a police car, drunk drives off Death Mountain, and end up passing away. The episode tried to advise against excessive drinking, but the plot points ventured too far.
Watch the episode on YouTube.
6- Sesame Street: “Episode 847”
This Sesame Street tale took inspiration from The Wizard of Oz and invited Margaret Hamilton back to play the Wicked Witch. She loses her broomstick and disturbs everyone living on Sesame Street. Although The Wizard of Oz featured scary monkeys and a more detailed evil plot, parents complained that their toddlers should not be watching the scary content in Episode 847.
The episode is available on YouTube.
7- Family Guy: “Partial Terms of Endearment”
Lois runs into a former college roommate and girlfriend, Naomi, at her college reunion. Naomi and Lois rekindle and discuss their current lives. Naomi informs Lois that she and her husband want a surrogate for a baby and ask if Lois would be interested.
Lois ponders the idea and agrees, successfully undergoing an IVF operation. When the news breaks, Lois debates whether to keep the baby or terminate the pregnancy.
8- Family Guy: “The Splendid Source”
Chris' school suspends him after he tells a distasteful joke that he learned from Quagmire. Quagmire tells Peter the joke, and Peter loves it so much he cancels his vacation to Maine in quest of finding the best joke in the world.
During the journey, many people fall ill or pass away until the end, when Peter reveals the best joke.
9- Arthur: “Room to Ride”
Binky Barnes decides to add more bicycle lanes to the city after watching Lance Armstrong's victory. Armstrong even guest-starred in this episode. However, the network pulled the animated segment after Armstrong's allegations of drug use circulated in mainstream media.
10- South Park: “200 and 2o1”
South Park wanders into meta territory, where every celebrity they've satirized plans to sue the show. Tom Cruise says he won't move forth with legal action if he can meet the Islamic prophet Muhammad. These episodes showed Buddha ingesting illicit substances much to the dismay of those who practice Buddhism.
Despite the controversy, you can see this episode on Prime Video.
11- South Park: “Cartoon Wars Parts 1 and 2”
South Park garnered fans for its willingness to comment on any and every topic populating the media without censorship. “The Cartoon Wars” episodes feature a fictional Family Guy episode with an offensive portrayal of the Prophet Muhammed.
12- South Park: “Two Days Before The Day After Tomorrow”
The crew crashes a boat into a beaver dam and causes a flood that disrupts an entire community. The episode aired after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and claimed hundreds of lives. According to some South Park viewers, this episode satirized a serious disaster that should not have served as comic material.
13- The Boondocks: “The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show”
Aaron McGruder, the creator of The Boondocks, voiced his opinions on BET several times through the animated sitcom. This episode features a parody of BET that airs “The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show” featuring Uncle Ruckus, a racist black man who believes he has reverse vitiligo.
14- The Boondocks: “The Hunger Strike”
Another criticism of BET, “The Hunger Strike,” focuses on Huey Freeman, a ten-year-old black panther who decides to go on a hunger strike in protest of BET. He claims that he will not consume any food until BET apologizes for its agenda against black people.
Adult Swim pulled this episode after BET threatened to sue the network.
15- The Boondocks: “Pause”
Aaron McGruder allegedly upset the creator of Madea, Tyler Perry, with the episode “Pause.” In the third season episode, Granddad auditions to play a gay man in a new play and soon finds himself in a dangerous cult led by the play's director.
The character Grandad plays is likely modeled after Madea and led to rumors of legal action. The Boondocks fans claim the episode to be one of the funniest to grace the screen.
16- The Simpsons: “Little Big Mom”
After Marge breaks her leg on a ski trip, Lisa assumes the role of mother and takes care of her family. However, the boys act as they do and cause a ruckus in the house, resulting in Lisa's retaliation. She fools Homer and Bart by painting them with green paint and oatmeal, so they believe they have leprosy.
Watch the episode on Disney+.
17- The Simpsons: “E Pluribus Wiggum”
Springfield can't agree on who to nominate for the election, so they write in Lisa's classmate, the eight-year-old Ralph Wiggum, who doesn't adhere to either party. The network did not ban the segment for its commentary about Democrats vs. Republicans but because the episode falsely referred to the Argentinian president, Juan Peron as a dictator rather than a democratically elected leader.
You can also catch the episode on Disney+.
18- The Twilight Zone: “The Encounter”
An American World War II Veteran finds a sword in his attic that he took from a Japanese soldier he killed years back. A young Japanese American confronts the veteran about possible work, and the two delve into racial tensions and stereotypes about each other's backgrounds. The episode tried to comment on stereotypes; however, the lack of diversity behind the camera took away any valuable plot points.
The episode is still on Prime Video.
19- The Powerpuff Girls: “See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey”
Fed up with constant fighting, The Powerpuff Girls hope for a break. Their wish comes true when a magical gnome appears out of a sidewalk crack and promises to demolish evil from the town if they hand over their powers. After the deal commences, the gnome unleashes a cult-like reign, and the girls overthrow him using their cunning skills.
Major networks banned the show as they believed the buildings that burned down had beams resembling crosses and a character that resembled Jesus Christ.
The banned episode is available on Netflix.
20- Shake It Up: “Party It Up”
Two high school dancers promise their choreographer they'll attend his party. The only problem is their parents prevent them from attending. After sneaking out, the duo encounters a model who comes up to them and utters, “I could just eat you up, well, if I ate.”
Demi Lovato called out Disney on Twitter to take down the episode and censor the comment.
The episode is still on Disney+.
21- Jessie: “Quitting Cold Koala”
In another instance of Disney harping on medical issues, the writers behind Jessie gave a character a gluten intolerance, which would have connected with many viewers if they treated it with kindness and not as a reason to bully.
The character, Stuart, sits down to eat breakfast with some friends and asks Bertram the Butler if the pancakes have gluten in them. A few seconds later, another character throws a pancake at him to scare him of gluten.
22- Hannah Montana: “No Sugar, Sugar”
I believe Disney Channel writers had good intentions when they spoke of health problems, but the execution fell flat. In this season two episode, Oliver deals with a diabetes diagnosis, and his friends find out and try to remove all sugar from his sight. Complaints arose after it seemed the episode said eating sugar causes diabetes which is false and a harmful thought considering a lot of people with diabetes need sugar to survive.
23- Peppa Pig: “Mister Skinnylegs”
Surprisingly, Peppa Pig has a banned episode in Australia. The five-minute kids' show about a family of pigs aired an episode about spiders, suggesting the eight-legged creatures are friendly and not harmful. But, for kids in Australia, this message could lead them to harmful or fatal encounters.
24- SpongeBob SquarePants: “Mid-Life Crustacean”
Mr. Krabs struggles with accepting his age and hangs out with SpongeBob and Patrick for a few hours. Boredom dawns on Mr. Krabs until Patrick suggests they steal underwear from local ladies. They end up stealing a pair of Mr. Krabs' mother's undergarments.
25- The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: “Doin' Time in Suite 2330”
Everyone's favorite show about two mischievous twins that live in a hotel had a stunning guest cast throughout the seasons. However, one particular cast member caused the network to censor the episode due to allegations against him in real life. Chris Brown guest starred as himself, but when physical assault allegations against him came out, Disney stopped airing the episode.
You can catch the episode on Apple TV.
