Joan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama series created and produced by Barbara Hall and starring Amber Tamblyn as Joan Girardi, a teenager who sees and speaks with God who appears in the form of ordinary people and asks her to perform certain tasks.
The series originally aired in the USA on CBS from 26 September, 2003 to 22 April, 2005. There are 45 hour-long episodes in two seasons.
Joan of Arcadia originally aired in South Africa on SABC3, from 13 June, 2004 to 2 September, 2006. It premiered on DStv's Sony Entertainment Television (SET) channel on Wednesday 7 November, 2007. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 2 premiered on SET on Wednesday 24 September 2008, at 22h00. There are 22 episodes in the second season.
SET Repeats
Thursdays: 01h20, 12h10
Saturdays: 11h20, 18h20
Synopsis
Joan of Arcadia is a drama that follows a typical family facing atypical situations, not the least of which is their teenage daughter's conversations with God.
A tough but soft-hearted police detective in Arcadia, Will Girardi (Joe Mantegna) dreams of providing a safe haven for his family and community.
An outbreak of serious crime in his idyllic new town has challenged Girardi's desire for order, as have the ups and downs he faces with his family.
Daughter Joan (Amber Tamblyn), an average teenager, has been acting a little strange. Most don't know that it has to do with the unusual way various people keep popping up, introducing themselves as God and then giving her specific directions to do things, such as get a job, join the debate team or volunteer with children.
The appearances are hard for her to believe, even more so as she never knows who's going to turn up next. One minute it's a cute boy her own age, the next it's the lunch lady or a little girl.
She'd been keeping it a secret from everyone, though she has finally revealed it to her artistic and generally sensitive boyfriend, Adam (Christopher Marquette), who believes she's been experiencing hallucinations.
Rounding out the Girardi family are her art-teacher mother, Helen (Mary Steenburgen); her 16-year-old science-geek brother, Luke (Michael Welch), and her older, newspaper-writer brother, Kevin (Jason Ritter), a former high-school sports star who is in a wheelchair as a result of a car accident.
Joan's unlikely new best friend is her publicly caustic and rebellious, but privately insightful and supportive classmate, Grace (Becky Wahlstrom).
Unsure of what God wants - if God exists - and if she's even sane, Joan tentatively follows God's cryptic directives, all the while trying to retain a normal teenaged existence.
Seasons
Season 1 (23 episodes)
Channel: SABC3 | Premiere: 13 June 2004 | Finale: 14 November 2004 | Sundays, 19h30
Channel: SET | Premiere: 7 November 2007 | Finale: 2 April 2008 | Wednesdays, 23h00
Season 2 (22 episodes)
Channel: SABC3 | Premiere: 8 April 2006 | Finale: 2 September 2006 | Saturdays, 18h00
Channel: SET | Premiere: 24 September 2008 | Finale: 18 February 2009 | Wednesdays, 22h00