Not exactly ‘7th Heaven’

NBC’s new series “The Book of Daniel” is the first network show in years to center on a man of God: an Episcopal priest played by Aidan Quinn.

But those who tune in tonight expecting a rehash of the WB’s “7th Heaven,” a warmhearted drama about a minister’s family that built lessons in every hour, will be bewildered and possibly shocked.

The title character, Father Daniel Webster, is coping with the loss of a son who died of leukemia. He pops Vicodin like Tic Tacs and has semi-regular chats with Jesus (played by Garret Dillahunt of “Deadwood”), who is envisioned as an easygoing, invisible best pal.

“He’s the one who inspired Daniel’s faith and called him to the priesthood,” says series creator Jack Kenny. “He’s what I always thought a personal relationship with Jesus Christ should be.”

As if that weren’t enough boycott ammo, Daniel’s daughter, Grace (Alison Pill), is a recently busted pot dealer; his depressed wife, Judith (Susannah Thompson of “Once and Again”), nurses a midday martini habit; and his boss, Bishop Congreve (Ellen Burstyn), is having an affair with Daniel’s dad (James Rebhorn), a married priest whose wife is stricken with Alzheimer’s.

Then there’s Daniel’s openly gay son, Peter (Christian Campbell); a maid named Rainy (Fran Bennett) who raids Grace’s pot stash to treat an illness; and the disappearance of $3 million in church funds, which are ultimately found and returned by the Mafia in exchange for a kickback disguised as a construction job.

On top of all that, Kenny is an openly gay ex-Catholic whose best-known credit is Fox’s razor-edged sitcom “Titus.” He penned the pilot for “Daniel” as a writing sample, never imagining that a network would give it a green light.

To his amazement, hit-challenged NBC said yes, held the show until midseason to give it a more prominent launch, and approved an ad campaign that sells the show as a faith-based cousin of “Desperate Housewives.”

Conservative Christian groups have already mobilized in protest. The American Family Association’s Web site is coordinating a letter-writing campaign under the banner headline “New NBC Drama Show Mocks Christianity.”

The 47-year-old Kenny, who describes himself as “spiritual” and still attends Christian services, knows he’s strolling through a minefield. But he insists that dry recitations of the characters’ problems make “Daniel” sound more provocative than it is.

“There’s no reason for anyone to take this series as a personal affront to their world, their faith and their life,” he says. “What I tried to do is show religion in a very real context with these particular people, not to say, ‘You should be like this,’ or ‘This is the way all priests are, and the way all people’s families are,’ but ‘This is how this one particular family is. Please take a look.’ “

Kenny points out that the series never mocks religion, nor does it show any character doubting his or her faith (a fact that contrasts “Daniel” with ABC’s controversial, short-lived Roman Catholic drama “Nothing Sacred”). Rather, it depicts the Bible, the Episcopal church and Daniel’s sermons as moral yardsticks against which the characters measure (or fail to measure) their actions.

“Daniel would like to see himself as a Bishop Desmond Tutu or a Mother Teresa, a prominent religious figure who inspires other people,” says Quinn, a Catholic who attended Christian Brothers School in Ireland as a child. “But he knows he falls far short of that, and it continually frustrates him.”

Quinn says that “Daniel” is groundbreaking in one respect that might go unnoticed: All the major characters believe in God, Jesus and an afterlife, yet their faith is treated as a given, and depicted as an important strand in their lives but not the only strand.

“All the main characters have a strong and abiding faith in their religion, but the meat and potatoes of what we’re doing is a story about the joys and sorrows that go on in the life of an American family,” he says.

“I’ve had journalists tell me that when they watch TV, they often think, ‘Gee, I wish my family was that good,’ but when they watch our show, they say, ‘Wow. That’s like my family.’ “

Kenny seems unconcerned that viewers will rebel against a show that maneuvers devout characters into mortifying predicaments, then refuses to judge them – much less suggest a spiritually correct course of action.

“It never occurred to me to make a series that shows how people ought to behave,” he says. “This is a TV series that just happens to be about people of faith.

“The backdrop of ‘The Book of Daniel’ is the Episcopal Church in the way that the backdrop of ‘Six Feet Under’ is a funeral home. It’s a show set in a world with problems that don’t get solved in 40 minutes.”