Christian Activist Denouce NBC Religious Drama With Gay Subplot

Christian Activists Denounce NBC Religious Drama With Gay Subplot
12.29.05

By Ross von Metzke

(Hollywood, CA) – A television drama about an Episcopal set to debut on NBC
next week is prompting protest from right-wing religious activists, in large
part because the show features a gay character as the priest's son.
The American Family Association is urging members to send letters of protest
to NBC about The Book of Daniel, which the group believes is not a favorable
depiction of Christian people.
The series centers on a priest named Daniel Webster and his family. According
to the AFA, Webster'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.”
The show is scheduled to air Fridays beginning Jan. 6.
On Tuesday, GLAAD called The Book of Daniel a "witty and unconventional
family drama,” and applauded the show's gay character, played by Trick’s
Christian Campbell, as one of four noteworthy LGBT characters being introduced on TV
next month.
“This is an offbeat, inclusive series – inclusive of people of faith and
inclusive of gay and bisexual people,” Damon Romine, GLAAD's entertainment
media director, 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.”
Aidan Quinn, who plays the priest, called the series “wholesome” in an
interview published Tuesday by the Associated Press.
“I honestly don't think it's going to be nearly as controversial as some
people may now be afraid of,” Quinn said. “It just has the courage to deal with
some of the real issues that go on in people's lives.”
The series' openly gay creator, Jack Kenny, told the AP that the show is not
about religion.
“The show is about a family,” he said. “The fact that Daniel is a priest is
secondary. The church is the backdrop. This is no more about religion that
'Six Feet Under' was about mortuaries.”
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