User:Wl219/Pregnancy on television


 * Main article: Pregnancy.

The portrayal of pregnancy on television ranges from serious documentaries to fictional dramas to comedic sitcoms.

Fictional portrayals
In episodic television, an actress' pregnancy may be incorporated into the story of the character she portrays. For example, Jennifer Garner's real-life pregnancy was incorporated into her Sydney Bristow character on Alias. The decision by the show's producers to do this was seen by critics as an opportunity to inject new storylines into the series.

In terms of the fictional universe of a TV show, a pregnancy can be written as a natural occurrence, especially if the female character is married, involved in a romantic relationship, or otherwise sexually active. To accommodate both the pregnancy and the realism of a TV show, the actress' character may be given a less physically demanding role, as was done for Catherine Dent's Danny Sofer character on The Shield.

Alternatively, the pregnancy can be explained as a surrogacy. Kathryn Erbe's pregnancy was incorporated into her Alexandra Eames character on Law & Order: Criminal Intent as a surrogacy for Eames' unseen sister. A more contrived surrogacy storyline was written for Nana Visitor's pregnancy on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The other option for TV producers is to portray the female character as not being pregnant by hiding the actress' pregnancy. For example, Roxann Dawson's pregnancy on Star Trek: Voyager was hidden by having her B'Elanna Torres character wear a loose-fitting jacket over her normal uniform costume. Camera angles were also adjusted to avoid shots that would ruin the illusion.

Another method of hiding an actress' pregnancy is to reduce her character's on-screen appearances. For example, Mariska Hargitay's pregnancy was hidden by using a storyline in which her Olivia Benson character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit went undercover with the FBI (and consequently was unavailable for regular detective duty).

Audience reaction
Critics and audiences may react negatively to the on-screen pregnancy of a female character, writing off the show as having jumped the shark. For example, Suzanne Somers' pregnancy on Step by Step is viewed by fans as the leading cause of the show to have jumped the shark.

Allegations of discrimination
As a result of reducing the screen time of pregnant actresses, and even firing actresses that became pregnant, TV producers have faced lawsuits alleging sexual discrimination. In 1997, actress Hunter Tylo successfully sued Aaron Spelling's production company when she was fired from the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

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