A TV station in Thailand canceled a popular soap opera mini series, abruptly, causing widespread uproar amongst its viewers.
The Associated Press reported that Channel 3 announced on Friday that it would stop airing the show "Nua Mek 2" after deeming some of its content "inappropriate for broadcast."
The show started on Dec. 14. The AP reported that the story was about "a fictitious Thai prime minister, his corrupt deputy, black magic and political manipulation."
There were supposed to two final episodes for Friday and Saturday and they were not broadcasts. Thai media reported that Channel 3 was scared that the show's content might be against the law. Some are speculating that the Thai government is behind the cancellation, as they monitor TV for content.
"Those who know best (about the issue) are the broadcaster, producers and related personnel," Prime Minister's Office minister Warathep Rattanakorn said according to the AP.
The tv show features a negative image on politicians. Though there is no real answer yet to why the show was pulled, the AP reported that scripts posted on websites of Thai newspapers showed that the prime minster would be assassinated at the end of the series.
Section 37 of the Broadcast and Telecommunications Operations Act, which prohibits "content that seeks to overthrow the constitutional monarchy, threatens national security or morality, or constitutes profanity or causes severe harm to people's mental or physical health."
Facebook pages have started in support of the tv show and the Thai Constitution Protection Association said it would try and seek an order from the NBTC to force the channel to air the remaining episodes.
"It hurts the viewers' feelings and has infringed on the rights of Thai consumers. They have the constitutional right to watch it until the end," Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the association, said Monday to the AP.
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