(RNS) — A smarty-pants atheist friends “God” on Facebook — and God friends him back.
That could be the elevator pitch for “God Friended Me,” a potential new hourlong television drama-comedy from CBS.
CBS ordered a pilot episode of the proposed show for the fall, and if it gains traction with audiences it could become a weekly television series.
“God Friended Me” is a product of Berlanti Productions, the Hollywood company behind the television shows “Dawson’s Creek,” “Supergirl” and “Riverdale,” among others.
The television trope of God talking to a skeptic is not new for CBS. “Joan of Arcadia,” a drama about a teen who becomes an instrument of the divine, aired on the network from 2003 to 2005, and “Touched by an Angel” was a huge hit — with audiences, if not critics — for the network for nine years.
God has made fewer comedic appearances on television — it’s hard to make God “funny” without offending someone — so “God Friended Me,” which is described as “a light procedural,” is far from a guaranteed hit.
“This guy’s proximity to the creator leads him to change the lives around him,” Tolly Wright wrote for the pop culture website Vulture.
“Considering the type of powerful forces that have been accused of using Facebook to influence not-so-divine-change, maybe this show will return people’s faith in social media’s potential to do good. Though don’t count on it.”