“Rescue Me” stems from a natural combination.

The drama, which focuses on a New York City firefighting unit, stars an in-your-face actor, Denis Leary, and debuts at 10 tonight on FX, an in-your-face cable channel.

The series revolves around Tommy Gavin (Leary), senior firefighter on 62 Truck. In part because of the stress of his job and the repercussions of 9-11, Tommy has fallen off the wagon and his wife is in the process of divorcing him. She plans to follow her new financier boyfriend across the country, taking Tommy’s three kids with her. To make matters worse, Tommy sees (and talks to) dead people, especially his cousin and best friend, Jimmy, a firefighter who died at ground zero.

A small part of “Rescue Me,” created by Leary and Peter Tolan, finds Tommy at home, surrounded by his estranged wife, her boyfriend, his children and his cousin’s widow and son. But primarily, the drama is set at the firehouse, exploring those characters and how they cope after 9-11. His lieutenant secretly writes bad poetry at home. His captain, who has a gambling habit, is a powder keg who is ready to explode. After his first physical in years, one veteran firefighter has drawn up a list of celebrities that he plans to kill in case he finds out he has a dread disease.

Once again, Denis Leary plays Denis Leary, as he did in ABC’s underappreciated “The Job,” as he did when selling Quaker State, as he did in every movie in which he ever appeared, as he has ever since he first appeared on MTV. He’s a profane everyman, railing against injustices in the world. No wonder he’s a great fit at FX.

“Rescue Me” isn’t one of FX’s great dramas. It’s not “The Shield” or “Nip/Tuck.” But it’s a diverting, unsettling escape from reality TV this summer.