US TV shies away from racy sitcom

The UK version of Coupling has become a cult hit

The US version of BBC sitcom Coupling has been banned by two local stations because of its sexual content.

The stations - WNDU in South Bend, Indiana and KSL in Salt Lake City, Utah - are affiliated to national network NBC, which made the show.

NBC has remade the cult hit British comedy, about six friends, with the first episode to be shown on Thursday.

WNDU said the sexual jokes "push the envelope well beyond the boundaries of our community's standards".

The station's managers said they were "disappointed and uncomfortable" with the content.

NBC has admitted the show is "provocative" - but said the show was appropriate for national broadcast.

New ground

The original BBC version has become known for its uninhibited look at the young and liberated city dwellers and their sex lives - or lack of them.

"This is more about people not having sex," writer Steven Moffat said.

The formula for the NBC version has been changed little from the British original - and some people have touted it as a possible successor to Friends.

It does cover new ground for a mainstream US network, Ben Silverman, an executive producer of the NBC show, said.

"I think it's ground that [has] been covered on cable but I think we are trying to make it as provocative as we can within intelligent boundaries," he said.

"We absolutely want people to go 'wow' a little bit, but only in an adult, sophisticated way."