''The Book of Daniel'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series that was broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. The network promoted it as a serious drama about

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and the

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global populat ...

, but it was controversial with some Christians. The show had been proposed for NBC's 2005 fall line-up, but was rescheduled as a 2006

mid-season replacement In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a ...

. The program premiered on January 6, 2006, in the US and was scheduled to air in thirteen episodes on Friday nights. The series ended on January 20, 2006. NBC called the show "edgy", "challenging", and "courageous" in its promotional material. On January 24, 2006, a spokeswoman for NBC announced the show had been dropped.

Synopsis

Set in the fictional town of Newbury in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

, the main character is the Reverend Daniel Webster (

Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor who made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984). He has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), ''Stakeout'' (1987), ''Aval ...

), an unconventional Episcopal

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

who is addicted to narcotic painkillers while his wife Judith (

Susanna Thompson Susanna Thompson (born January 27, 1958) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films ''Little Giants'' (1994), ''Ghosts of Mississippi'' (1996), ''Random Hearts'' (1999) and ''Dragonfly (2002 film), Dragonfly'' (2002). On televisio ...

) fights her dependence on mid-day

martini Martini may refer to: * Martini (cocktail) * Martini (vermouth), a brand of vermouth * Martini (surname), an Italian surname * Martini (automobile company), a Swiss automobile company * Automobiles Martini, a French manufacturer of racing cars * M ...

s. Struggling to be a good husband, father, and priest, Webster regularly sees and talks with a traditional Western-world, white-skinned, white-robed and bearded

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

(

Garret Dillahunt Garret Lee Dillahunt (born November 24, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for his work in television, including the roles Burt Chance on the Fox sitcom ''Raising Hope'', for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television A ...

) who nonetheless is rather unconventional. Daniel's Jesus appears only to him and openly questions modern interpretations of Church teachings, reminding Daniel of his own strengths and weaknesses. The Webster family includes 23-year-old

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

son Peter (

Christian Campbell Christian Bethune Campbell (born May 12, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Gabriel in the film ''Trick'', Greg Ivey in the television series ''Big Love'' and on stage as Jimmy Harper in the musical '' Reefer Madness''. E ...

), 16-year-old daughter Grace (

Alison Pill Alison Pill (born November 27, 1985) is a Canadian actress. A former child actress, Pill began her career at age 12, appearing in numerous films and television series. She transitioned to adult roles and her breakthrough came with the television ...

) (arrested for drug possession in the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

), and 16-year-old adopted Chinese son Adam (

Ivan Shaw Ivan Shaw is a Taiwanese-American actor who made his daytime debut in December 2002, playing young Henry Chin in the ABC daytime show '' All My Children''. Early life and education Shaw moved from Taipei, Taiwan at age 4 to Upland, California whe ...

), who is dating Caroline Paxton (

Leven Rambin Leven Rambin is an American actress. She is known for playing look-alike half-sisters Lily Montgomery and Ava Benton on ''All My Children'', and for her recurring roles on ''Grey's Anatomy'' and '' Gone'', as well as '' Terminator: The Sarah Con ...

), the daughter of one of Daniel's parishioners who harbors anti-Asian prejudices. Another son, Peter's twin brother Jimmy, died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

two years prior to the beginning of the series; Christian Campbell also played the role of Jimmy in flashback scenes in an unaired episode (which was included in the DVD release). When Daniel's brother-in-law Charlie absconds with church funds and abandons his family, Daniel's sister-in-law ( Cheryl White) enters a lesbian relationship with Charlie's

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

secretary. Bishop Beatrice Congreve (

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

) is involved with Daniel's married father (

James Rebhorn James Robert Rebhorn (September 1, 1948 – March 21, 2014) was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the series '' White Collar'' and ''Hom ...

), a retired

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

who, despite his gruff exterior, is troubled by dealing with his wife's

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

Cast

as Daniel Webster *

as Judith Webster *

as Adam Webster *

as Jesus *

as Grace Webster *

as Peter Webster *

as Beatrice Congreve *

as Bertram Webster *

Dylan Baker Dylan Baker (born October 7, 1959) is an American actor. He gained recognition for his roles in the films such as ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), ''Happiness'' (1998), '' Thirteen Days'' (2000), ''Road to Perdition'' (2002), ''Spider-M ...

as Roger Northrup

Episodes

Controversy

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported NBC had difficulty selling advertising during the program, even after offering significant rate discounts, because of controversial content.

Stations refuse to air

Eight of NBC's 232 affiliates refused to carry the program due to viewer complaints: WSMV in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

(owned by the

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...

);

WGBC WGBC (channel 30) is a television station in Meridian, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with Fox and NBC. It is owned by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company LLC, which provides certain services to CBS affiliate WMDN (channel 24) u ...

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

;

WTVA WTVA (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Tupelo, Mississippi, United States, serving the Columbus–Tupelo market as an affiliate of NBC and ABC. It is owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, which provides certain services to West Poi ...

Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo () is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. With an estimated population of 38,300, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North M ...

, and six stations owned by

Nexstar Broadcasting Group Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarter offices in Irving, Texas; Midtown Manhattan; and Chicago, Illinois. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 te ...

–

WTWO WTWO (channel 2) is a television station in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to ABC affiliate WAWV-TV (channel 38) under joint sales and shared serv ...

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

;

KARK-TV KARK-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KARZ-TV (channel 42); Nexstar also provides certain services to Fox aff ...

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

;

KFTA-TV KFTA-TV (channel 24) is a television station licensed to Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Arkansas River Valley and Northwest Arkansas. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Rogers-licensed NBC aff ...

KNWA-TV KNWA-TV (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Rogers, Arkansas, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River Valley. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Fort Smith–licensed Fox ...

in Fayetteville-

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

(the former is now affiliated with

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

);

KAMR KAMR-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Amarillo, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate KCPN-LD (channel 33); Nexstar also provides certain services Fox ...

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

and

KBTV-TV KBTV-TV (channel 4) is a television station licensed to Port Arthur, Texas, United States, serving the Beaumont area as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Dabl. It is owned by Deerfield Media, which maintains joint sales and share ...

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...

(owned at the time by Nexstar). Most of the affiliates refusing to air the program were located in the

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...

. After KARK-TV refused to air the series, KWBF (now

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

affiliate KARZ-TV), then an affiliate of

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

, picked up the series. The company stated that it was excited to offer an outlet for viewers in the central Arkansas area who wanted to watch the show. However, the station soon received a number of threats, which required it to hire extra security. Both KARK-TV and KARZ have been owned by Nexstar since 2009, some three years after the show's cancellation. Unconnected to the controversy, stations in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, including

WDIV WDIV-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with NBC. It serves as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship broadcast property of the Graham Media Group subsidiary of Graham Holdings, Graham ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

(owned by

Post-Newsweek Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of ''The Washington Pos ...

WOOD-TV WOOD-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for West Michigan. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Battle Creek–licensed ABC affiliate WOTV (channel 41) an ...

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

(owned at the time by

LIN Lin or LIN may refer to: People *Lin (surname) (normally ), a Chinese surname *Lin (surname) (normally 蔺), a Chinese surname * Lin (''The King of Fighters''), Chinese assassin character *Lin Chow Bang, character in Fat Pizza Places *Lin, Iran, ...

WILX WILX-TV (channel 10) is a television station licensed to Onondaga, Michigan, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Lansing area. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on American Road (near I-96) in Lansing, and ...

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

(owned by

Gray Television Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...

) and stations WPBN and WTOM in

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

and Sault Ste. Marie (owned at the time by Barrington Broadcasting), and

WLUC WLUC-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Marquette, Michigan, United States, serving the Central and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan as an affiliate of NBC and Fox. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on US 41/ M ...

in Marquette did not air the series's second episode. This was because of the traditional televised charity preview of that year's

North American International Auto Show The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), also known as the Detroit Auto Show as of 2022 and prior to NAIAS, is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., at Huntington Place. The show was held in January from 1989 to 2019. ...

originated by WDIV; most of those stations carried it in off-peak timeslots elsewhere during the week. NBC's

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

affiliate,

KSL-TV KSL-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Bonneville International, the for-profit broadcasting arm of the Church of Jesus Chr ...

(whose owner,

Bonneville International Bonneville International Corporation is a media and broadcasting company, wholly owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation. It began as a radio and TV network ...

, is operated by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

), did carry ''The Book of Daniel'', despite the station's history of preempting shows claiming that they would offend

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

's religious population.

Mid-season cancellation

On January 24, 2006,

announced the show had been dropped from the schedule. The last airing of the show was on January 20, 2006. The January 20 episode was the fourth in the series, drawing 5.8 million viewers.

gave no official explanation for the cancellation.

DVD release

On September 26, 2006, a complete-series collection of ''The Book of Daniel'' was released on DVD exclusively on

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

. The set includes two discs, featuring all eight episodes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Daniel, The NBC original programming 2000s American drama television series 2006 American television series debuts 2006 American television series endings 2000s American LGBT-related drama television series Religious drama television series Religious controversies in television Religious controversies in the United States Television controversies in the United States Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in New York (state)