Seth MacFarlane, the actor and comedian best known for creating the Rhode Island-set television show “Family Guy,’’ has weighed in on “SMILF,’’ the Boston-based show that’s come under fire from a city councilor.
The show, created by Frankie Shaw and centered around South Boston, premiered on Showtime in November. But Boston City Councilor Ed Flynnlast week said posters advertising the show around the city should be taken down, arguing that the series paints the neighborhood in an unflattering light.
MacFarlane (inset), a New England native who also produced movies “Ted’’ and “Ted 2’’ in the Boston area, tweeted on Sunday in support of Shaw.
“Flynn treads on dark ground. Whether a writer is drawing from personal experience or pure imagination, it’s troubling when anyone, politician or otherwise, suggests a story should not be told or a character should be censored. Make room, Ed,’’ MacFarlane wrote.
MacFarlane was referenced in a long statement that Shaw issued on Saturday addressing Flynn’s concerns and pushing against the notion that the show is inaccurate.
“I have a feeling that the judgment comes from underlying gender-bias more than anything else. . . . But just like Ben Affleck and Seth MacFarlane, who came into town to make their very male art of chasing women, robbing banks, and getting high with teddy bears, I’d like the same consideration to tell the stories that are important to me,’’ Shaw wrote in a post on her Facebook page.
The city said that the advertisements were already scheduled to come down.
On her Facebook page, Shaw also had a few words for Flynn — OK, more than a few. In a lengthy post, Shaw encouraged the city councilor to actually watch the show and then weigh in.
“If you don’t have much free time, start with episode eight, where the main character, Bridgette, confronts her father who sexually abused her when she was a child. Or you could check out episode six, which deals with the realities of working class women who are responsible for the caregiving of children and the aging, and raises the question: Does our society have room for mothers to dream? If you don’t have Showtime, look on any of my social media pages for a code for a free 30-day trial or message me back and I’ll hook you up,’’ she wrote.
Shaw went on to say she has a lot of love and admiration for the people of South Boston and the show does not patronize them.
“I love Southie. We shot the pilot in the very house my mom grew up in. My uncle Peter, who has schizophrenia and is beloved by everyone in the neighborhood, got to make the most money he’d ever made in his life for his small speaking role as a customer in Joseph’s bakery. All that being said, I’m not claiming to represent every single woman in South Boston. How could I? I’m writing about the people I know and the issues I care about,’’ she wrote. “I’m not sure why our main character, Bridgette, elicits such a strong reaction. Is it her messiness? In most popular movies and television, South Boston is generally portrayed as extremely violent, corrupt and notoriously racist. We at SMILF are none of these things. SMILF’s Southie is about a woman striving for a better life for her kid. I have a feeling that the judgment comes from underlying gender-bias more than anything else. And I get it, these deep-seated unconscious judgments are centuries old and very hard to recognize. But just like Ben Affleck and Seth MacFarlane, who came into town to make their very male art of chasing women, robbing banks, and getting high with teddy bears, I’d like the same consideration to tell the stories that are important to me.’’
J.D. Capelouto can be reached at jd.capelouto@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jdcapelouto.
