{"id":114,"date":"2010-11-18T05:47:45","date_gmt":"2010-11-18T05:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/catholicsmediaandculture\/2010\/11\/your-near-as-i-know-complete-list-of-tv-series-featuring-priests-in-lead-or-strong-supporting-roles.html"},"modified":"2010-11-18T05:47:45","modified_gmt":"2010-11-18T05:47:45","slug":"your-near-as-i-know-complete-list-of-tv-series-featuring-priests-in-lead-or-strong-supporting-roles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicsmediaandculture\/2010\/11\/your-near-as-i-know-complete-list-of-tv-series-featuring-priests-in-lead-or-strong-supporting-roles.html","title":{"rendered":"Your (near-as-I-know) complete list of TV series featuring priests in lead or strong supporting roles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday’s discussion of M*A*S*H<\/i><\/a> in this space got me thinking about the character of Father Mulcahy<\/a>
\nwhich led me wonder about how many shows actually featured priests in
\nlead or prominent supporting roles. Are you following my stream
\nconsciousness here? <\/p>\n

So, I did me some research. Here’s the list:<\/p>\n

Going My Way<\/i><\/a>
\n(ABC, 1962-1963) – Gene Kelly portrayed the idealistic Father O’Malley
\nmade famous by Bing Crosby in this one-hour dramedy for one
\nunsuccessful (at least ratings wise) season.<\/p>\n

Sarge<\/i><\/a>
\n(NBC, 1971) – Father Samuel Patrick Cavanaugh was an ex-police
\nsergeant-turned-crime-solving priest portrayed by George Kennedy <\/p>\n

M*A*S*H<\/i><\/a>
\n(CBS, 1972-1983) – Father Mulcahy (Williams Christopher) is perhaps the
\nmost beloved and enduring of all the TV priests. As positive a priest
\ncharacter as TV has ever presented.<\/p>\n

In the Beginning<\/i><\/a> (CBS, 1978) – After leaving M*A*S*H, <\/i>McLean
\nStevenson starred in this short-lived almost-completely-forgotten
\nNorman Lear sitcom as Father Dan Cleary, an uptight, conservative
\npriest who teamed up with the free-spirited and streetwise Sister Agnes
\nto minister at a street mission. <\/p>\n

AfterMASH <\/i><\/a>(CBS, (1983-1985) – The M*A*S*H <\/i>spinoff
\nfollowed Mulcahy (as well as Potter and Klinger) stateside where they
\nserved at veterans hospital but was far less successful.<\/p>\n

Hell Town<\/i><\/a>
\n(NBC, 1985) – Robert Blake as Father Noah “Hardstep” Rivers, an
\nex-criminal-turned-priest whose streetwise ways were just what the
\ndoctor ordered to deal with the street gangs and drug dealers that
\nterrorized his East LA parishioners. <\/p>\n

The Father Dowling Mysteries<\/i><\/a> (NBC\/ABC, 1987-1991) – Another one of those crime-solving priests. This one, portrayed by the recently-deceased Tom Bosley of Happy Days<\/i> and Murder, She Wrote <\/i>fame. Fr. Dowling did manage to eke out a longer run than Sarge<\/i> though. <\/p>\n

Nothing Sacred<\/i><\/a>
\n(ABC, 1997-1998) – Created by Bill Cain, a Jesuit priest himself, this
\ncontroversial drama series focused on Father “Ray,” a liberal priest
\nwho would sometimes question Church orthodoxy. During it’s brief
\none-season run, the show garnered a Humanitas Prize<\/a>, a P<\/a>eabody Award<\/a> and the ire of the Catholic League<\/a>.
\nPersonally, I thought it was an excellent show that portrayed both
\nliberals and conservatives within the Church with respect and dignity.
\nPerhaps it would have less alienated its natural audience (Catholics)
\nif it had been called Everything Sacred. <\/i>Seriously, it would have been a better title. <\/i><\/p>\n

Vows<\/i><\/a>, (AMC, 2007) – This one, created by former M*AS*H <\/i>Karen Hall never actually made it to air but the premise was described as being “about a priest who is faithful and is in love with the Church.”  <\/i>I
\ncan actually see how that would be tough sell but it might have made
\nfor an interesting series. Maybe AMC or another network can revisit
\nthis one? 
<\/span><\/a><\/sup>
V<\/i><\/a>
\n(ABC, 2009-Currently) – Among the alien fighters in this sci-fi remake
\nof an 1980’s series of the same name is Father Jack Landry (Joel Gretsch),
\n“a Catholic priest and former U.S. Army chaplain whose unease with the Visitors
\nis soon validated by his alliance with Erica over their discovery of the
\nVisitors’ secret.” <\/p>\n

<\/i>Have I missed any?  <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday’s discussion of M*A*S*H in this space got me thinking about the character of Father Mulcahy which led me wonder about how many shows actually featured priests in lead or prominent supporting roles. Are you following my stream consciousness here? So, I did me some research. Here’s the list: Going My Way (ABC, 1962-1963) –…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12,1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholic-church","category-christianity","category-media","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nYour (near-as-I-know) complete list of TV series featuring priests in lead or strong supporting roles - Catholics Media and Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicsmediaandculture\/2010\/11\/your-near-as-i-know-complete-list-of-tv-series-featuring-priests-in-lead-or-strong-supporting-roles.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Your (near-as-I-know) complete list of TV series featuring priests in lead or strong supporting roles - Catholics Media and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yesterday’s discussion of M*A*S*H in this space got me thinking about the character of Father Mulcahy which led me wonder about how many shows actually featured priests in lead or prominent supporting roles. 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Kennedy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicsmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicsmediaandculture\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/d80\/d801bc09698c0995d9ae402b4b55ab61x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicsmediaandculture\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/d80\/d801bc09698c0995d9ae402b4b55ab61x96.jpg","caption":"John W. Kennedy"},"description":"John W. Kennedy is the founder and Dir. of Development of The Creative Universe Entertainment\u2122, a media consultation and development company focusing on the creation, development and support of high-quality mainstream entertainment that upholds positive timeless values, including trust in God. Current projects include \"Bryant Park\" (an uplifting romantic-comedy) and \"Photo Finish\" (an award-winning sci-fi TV pilot). He has written over 100 children's novels based on episodes of the Cartoon Network series \"Ben 10\", \"Ben 10: Alien Force\", \"Ben 10: Ultimate Alien\", \"Ben 10: Omniverse\" and \"Generator Rex\" among others. He also writes Beliefnet\u2019s \"Faith, Media & Culture\" blog. Previously, he has produced successful news and talk programming for CNN, Fox News, Pax TV and SiriusXM. Specialties: Script Writing, Movie\/TV Novelizations & Adaptations, TV Content Creation and Development, Creative Consultation, Producing and Booking News and Talk shows. 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