‘The Book of Daniel,’ 9 p.m. NBC

The Rev. Daniel Webster thought things couldn’t get much worse after he bailed his 16-year-old daughter out of jail for selling – but not smoking – marijuana. So, when his brother-in-law disappears with the $3 million earmarked for a school, the Episcopal priest seeks help not from God, but from the local Catholic priest with Mafia ties.

That’s just one of the dilemmas Aidan Quinn finds himself in as the star of NBC’s new drama, “The Book of Daniel.” He also has a gay son, a mother with Alzheimer’s, an addiction to painkillers and a tendency to engage Jesus Christ in informal conversation.

Jack Kenney, whose credits include “Caroline in the City,” “Reba” and “Dave’s World,” is the creator and executive producer. While his characters are engaging, it’s clear from the two-hour pilot, “Temptation,” that Kenney’s vision for the show is too much of a stew.

It’s a little bit “Picket Fences,” the quirky David E. Kelley series set in Rome, Wis., that aired from 1992 to ’96, with a pinch of Dan Aykroyd’s short-lived “Soul Man” thrown into a mix that is closer to its canceled Catholic cousin “Nothing Sacred” than its creators would care to admit. What it really needs is a dash more “Joan of Arcadia.”

Kenney can’t seem to decide whether his Rev. Daniel Webster is the prophet from the Old Testament or the American politician whose support of the Compromise of 1850 preserved the fragile union for a few more years, before it fractured in the Civil War. The writer vacillates between the two, never giving the audience a distinct vision of the man. The priest keeps coming in and out of focus.

What Kenny has succeeded at is casting. Quinn gives one of his best performances in years. Veteran actress Ellen Burstyn is delightful as Webster’s boss, the bishop who’s having an affair with his father, also a bishop. Susanna Thompson, as Webster’s wife, expertly walks the sharp-edged sword between bitch and strong-willed partner. The three young actors – Christian Campbell, Ivan Shaw and Alison Pill – are equal to the more experienced colleagues.

Fans of HBO’s “Deadwood,” however, could have a problem accepting Garret Dillahunt as the “Book of Daniel’s” breezy Jesus. The actor’s portrayal last season of serial killer Francis Wolcott is tough to shake. His Son of God is meant to be comforting, not threatening. It may take a half-dozen episodes for “Deadwood” viewers to shake the feeling that JC is about to slit the good priest’s throat.

Kenney’s focus is on Webster’s family rather than church life. While it is fertile enough ground for a nighttime soap opera, the writer’s missing an opportunity to mine the rich history of the Episcopal Church. He introduces just one character as a lay leader Webster must deal with on a regular basis.

Where are the debates over which prayer book to use, the petty arguments between parishioners, and the fight over whether “praise music” rather than tradition Anglican hymns will put more butts in the pews on Sunday mornings?

Those who long for the weekly crisis of faith Joan Girardi faced in Arcadia will be disappointed in “The Book of Daniel.” The program shows promise, but it needs to focus more on Daniel Webster’s relationship with his parishioners and God and less on his family to keep viewers at home on Friday nights.