Might be the production company. *comment hops* Dead Like Me aired on a cable network - I can't remember if it's Showtime or HBO. That show's creator was forced to completely rewrite a storyline concerning the main character's father being revealed as gay because the people behind the show demanded it, despite the fact that it aired on a network that didn't play by the normal rules. They even had to do it after the plot was dangled in the pilot, so now the little implication makes no sense.