Washington Free Beacon reporter Stephen Gutowski appeared Monday on NRA-TV to discuss his recent article on the popular ABC television show "Designated Survivor" working with one of the country's leading gun control groups.
Gutowski explained to host Bill Whittle that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence briefed the creators of "Designated Survivor" prior to the premier of the show's first season.
The show later aired an April 5 episode titled "One Hundred Days," in which new President Tom Kirkman, played by actor Kiefer Sutherland, makes gun control a priority of his administration.
The Brady Campaign said it was happy with how the series portrayed the gun control issue and urged its supporters to thank ABC for the episode.
Gutowski told Whittle that the episode's "gun control talking points" were the "fruits of that brief."
Whittle then highlighted the links between Hollywood and left-wing advocacy groups, suggesting there is "collusion" between the producers of television shows and "many, many, many liberal special interest groups."
"When it comes to the Brady Campaign, they're open about what they're doing with this, I guess to their credit," Gutowski said, agreeing with Whittle. He added that the Brady Campaign "[was] very happy with how the show portrayed the issue of gun control."
He noted that others movies and shows, like "The Good Wife" and "Grey's Anatomy," have also consulted with the Brady Campaign.
"Have you ever heard of a case ever where Hollywood decided if not to at least–if Hollywood decided that we're not going to take the NRA's decision on this, but at least we're going to take their viewpoint?" Whittle asked. "I never have."
Gutowski said he has "never heard of an instance of that." Both agreed the NRA would be open to consulting in a similar manner as the Brady Campaign but has not been approached by Hollywood in the same manner.
The interview then turned to a broader discussion on Hollywood left-wing bias on the issue of guns. Whittle asked if Gutowksi has seen bias in favor of gun control in other television shows.
"You see it all the time, as you were alluding to," Gutowski responded. "The writers in Hollywood are mostly liberals, and I think that comes through in a lot of the work that is produced."
Far from being the high-energy, action-packed show that was presented in some promos, Gutowski explained that "Designated Survivor" is concerned with more mundane "day-to-day politics of a new administration coming in. That's kind of the role it's taking."
This factor helps the show press its political agenda, according to Gutowski.
"It's actually pretty absurd when you think about it," he said. "Their first agenda is gun control–they haven't even replaced the Supreme Court yet! There's no Supreme Court in this show!"
Gutowski noted that Sutherland's character is supposed to be an independent but pursues a left-wing agenda nonetheless.
"If you watch the episode where Kiefer Sutherland's president is laying out his agenda for his first hundred days, they paint him as an independent," Gutowksi said. "He's supposed to be independent, and he's supposed to be this moderate guy, which is a common theme I think you see in a lot of these shows that deal with politics and follow politicians. But in reality, his actual agenda is very left-wing."
"The show takes on a lot of sort of liberal pet causes throughout the first season, and tries to present Kiefer Sutherland's president as more moderate than he really is," Gutowski continued. "He's much more liberal than they really let on."