Set Your TiVo (or VCR) for This One

From Wednesday's Studio Briefing at the IMDB:

NBC's The Book of Daniel is not scheduled to premiere until Jan. 6, but it is already drawing heat from Christian conservatives. The Rev. Don Wildmon's American Family Association has asked its members to send messages to the network demanding that they cancel the series. "It would be beneficial to all if NBC showed a little more respect for Christians who believe the Bible," the AFA's statement said. It noted that the series features an Episcopal priest who talks to a "very unconventional" Jesus and that the priest's family includes "a 23-year-old homosexual Republican son, a 16-year-old daughter who is a drug dealer, and a 16-year-old adopted son who is having sex with the bishop's daughter. At the office, his lesbian secretary is sleeping with his sister-in-law." The show was defended by Damon Romine of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, who told the PlanetOut Network: "It doesn't surprise me that the AFA would be afraid of this series -- it shows a family that's both deeply religious and loving and accepting of their gay son." In a statement, NBC said, "We're confident that once audiences view this quality drama themselves, they'll appreciate this thought-provoking examination of one American family."