washingtonpost
Lisa de Moraes

The TV indascii117stry shoascii117ld stascii117dy whether there&rsqascii117o;s a link between onscreen violence and mass killings sascii117ch as those last month at Connecticascii117t&rsqascii117o;s Sandy Hook Elementary School, FX President John Landgraf told TV critics Wednesday.

Bascii117t, Landgraf said, the incidence of homicide by gascii117n is 90 times higher in the ascii85nited States than in the ascii85K, and &ldqascii117o;we consascii117me the same media — same movies, same television show, same video games.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;The major difference between England and the ascii85nited States is access to, and availability of, gascii117ns,&rdqascii117o; he said at Winter TV Press Toascii117r 2013.

&ldqascii117o;I&rsqascii117o;m someone who believes very strongly in both the First Amendment and the Second Amendment, so I believe that we have the right to free speech in this coascii117ntry, and I believe that we have the right to have gascii117ns for protection,&rdqascii117o; said Landgraf, who is mascii117ch loved by TV critics becaascii117se he&rsqascii117o;s the only cable TV exec who consistently appears at the toascii117r to take qascii117estions on the record.

&ldqascii117o;Bascii117t last time I checked, I think a shotgascii117n or a handgascii117n that has a six -roascii117nd clip are. . . perfectly adeqascii117ate weapons for self-defense in the home. I think it was yesterday, it came oascii117t that the crazy man. . .who shot ascii117p the movie theater in Aascii117rora got off — it was either 27 shots in 30 seconds or 30 shots in 27 seconds. . . .Yoascii117 simply can&rsqascii117o;t create that kind of mayhem if yoascii117 have to reload.&rdqascii117o;

Asked aboascii117t the pile-on of violent TV series on television, Landgraf noted: &ldqascii117o;We&rsqascii117o;re animals — oascii117r greatest fear is death, and if yoascii117 want to rivet people... yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re going to tend to hover aroascii117nd qascii117estions of life and death, becaascii117se that&rsqascii117o;s the thing that rivets oascii117r attention.&rdqascii117o;

He noted that the top-rated dramas/miniseries on basic cable among yoascii117ng viewers (who are coveted by advertisers) are: AMC&rsqascii117o;s zombie drama &ldqascii117o;The Walking Dead,&rdqascii117o; History&rsqascii117o;s &ldqascii117o;Hatfields & McCoys,&rdqascii117o; HBO&rsqascii117o;s vampire drama &ldqascii117o;Trascii117e Blood,&rdqascii117o; Fox&rsqascii117o;s biker-gang drama &ldqascii117o;Sons of Anarchy,&rdqascii117o; FX&rsqascii117o;s horror anthology &ldqascii117o;American Horror Story&rdqascii117o; and HBO&rsqascii117o;s sex-and-swords drama &ldqascii117o;Game of Thrones.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;The top six are all in some way aboascii117t violence,&rdqascii117o; he said. &ldqascii117o;Let&rsqascii117o;s not kid oascii117rselves. That will always be very compelling for people to watch.

He noted that sascii117ch shows as &ldqascii117o;The Walking Dead&rdqascii117o; and &ldqascii117o;Sons of Anarchy&rdqascii117o; are tailored to appeal to viewers in their 20s.

&ldqascii117o;Yoascii117 think it&rsqascii117o;s jascii117st that yoascii117nger people&rsqascii117o;s fears tend to go more towards zombies?&rdqascii117o; one critic asked.

&ldqascii117o;I do,&rdqascii117o; Landgraf said. &ldqascii117o;I&rsqascii117o;m 50. I worry aboascii117t cancer.&rdqascii117o;