PASADENA, Calif. -- Scott Sassa, the new president of NBC Entertainment, said his network's series have too much emphasis on sex and too few traditional families. And he promises that it's going to change.

The announcement, coming as it does from the network that became No. 1 in the ratings with sophisticated and sexy sitcoms aimed at young adults, could signal the start of a major shift in values for prime-time television. At the very least, it is sure to ignite a culture-wars debate about television and values.

Sassa, a television veteran who helped build Ted Turner's cable empire and took over from Warren Littlefield as the chief architect of NBC's prime-time schedule in October, laid out four areas of concern in the lineup he inherited. Calling it his "vision," he told a gathering of TV critics here that, in addition to less sex and more traditional families, he wanted to see more ethnic diversity and sitcoms set in cities other than New York.

NBC's trade-mark comedies, such as "Friends" and "Just Shoot Me," are all-white, New York and heavy on sexual innuendo, if not sex. In fact, in light of "Seinfeld," you could say the very values that Sassa wants to re-examine or change are the rock on which NBC was built in the 1990s.

"We don't have many traditional families on the schedule. In fact, we have only one, and that is not the classic television family. That one is 'Mad About You' with mother, father and baby," Sassa said.

"We've moved too far away from the traditional family. We're not going to develop all shows with traditional families. But I think we should have some shows. There should be some balance," he added.

Sassa said he's "not trying to create a family channel," and he's not going to try to eliminate sex from series like "Friends." He also said he's not going to spend his days micro-managing NBC series as a censor.

"But we need to have less of an emphasis on sex. Situation comedies are about situations, and sexual situations are sometimes key to what goes on in those shows," Sassa said.

"But we could use a few more words between 'hello' and 'will you sleep with me?' When we use sex, we need to be smarter about it and less gratuitous," he explained.

Sassa said he was concerned about writers using sex "for easy laughs," especially when children are watching.

"People want to watch with their kids. Within shows that are intended for families, we need to be more responsible," he said.

As for the geographic change in sitcom and drama settings, Sassa said it's simple: "New York is not the only place in America. I love New York, too, but people also want to see other places. And this is something that we're going to try and do," he said.

In terms of diversity, Sassa said, "We need to make sure our shows accurately reflect our audience."

He said NBC's dramas were better in this regard than the sitcoms. While he did not single out any shows, a comparison of the cast and concerns of "Homicide: Life on the Street" with, say, "Friends" makes his point.

He said "Providence," a new Friday night series that drew a bigger audience for its premiere last week than any other NBC drama since "ER," in many ways fit the new model he envisions.

Pub Date: 1/15/99