What about "All In The Family?" Archie would for example call black
people "colored," and he would often make stereotypes about other
minorities. The audience already knew that Norman Lear created Archie
Bunker to show people that this was the type of person that was not
good for society. The show was a success.
He used the 'n'-word in one episode, and the series has been shown in
repeats during the nineties, and in this decade. They even repeated the
one where he used the 'n'-word, but it didn't have a negative effect on
the ratings. People knew why the word was used. He was locked in a
basement with Mike, and they were talking. Archie told a story about
when he was a little boy, he got beat up by an older kid because he
"called him a 'n'word", and explained that his Father used to use the
word.
If people took that scene out of context, there probably wouldn't have
been any more episodes aired, and there might not be repeats of the
show long after the series ended.