The made-in-Utah series "Promised Land" makes some big changes tonight - the setting switches to Denver on a semipermanent basis.
No, the cast and crew aren't leaving the Beehive State. The show will still be produced here.But the basic concept behind the show - that of a family on the road en-countering new people every week - is being shelved. The fictional Greene family will be staying put for the time being.
"We're going to take them off the road for awhile," said executive producer/creator Martha Williamson. "We're going to have them put down roots. And we're going to do it in Denver, not because it's my hometown but because if we get a glimpse of some mountains in the background, it's OK."
Williamson had intended to put the Greenes in Pittsburgh. "I wanted sort of a northern feel without going too far north," she said. "A town where there's a lot of working-class people and a lot of big industry. And people economically challenged."
But the realities of Utah got in the way.
"The problem with Pittsburgh is we're shooting in Salt Lake," Williamson said. "We made Salt Lake look like Beijing last year, but we can't make it look like Pittsburgh. Go figure."
And more than just the setting of "Promised Land" is going to change. So will the emphasis in the stories.
"There's a lot more that needs to be dealt with in a family that, for two years, has been somewhat idealized," Williamson said. "We want to start taking a very clear look at the real challenges of raising teenage children in America right now."
Tonight at 7 on CBS/Ch. 2, the Greenes are driving through Denver when they're forced off the road by a police chase. The car and the trailer are smashed up, and Russell (Gerald McRaney) finds a job fixing up a house that the family moves into - a house that's really near downtown Salt Lake City. Russell will be working as an assistant probation officer for teenagers while he goes back to school to be qualified in the field. The kids, who have basically been home-schooled for two years, will attend public schools. And Claire (Wendy Phillips) will become a teacher and counselor at the high school Joshua (Austin O'Brien) and Dinah (Sarah Schaub) attend.
McRaney and Phillips will remain at the forefront of the series, but the focus will be on their roles as parents.
"We don't have a show, except for `7th Heaven,' that really explores the challenges of parenting," Williamson said. "And the opportunity that we have that I think `7th Heaven' doesn't have is that we, frankly, have a commitment to get real edgy. Now that we have our core audience, we can take them with us going edgier and farther."
As far as McRaney is concerned, the changes are all for the better.
"I like it. I like it a lot," he said. "We're all in agreement that this is the right thing to do. I think that there's only so far believably that you can stretch the storyline of being on the road."
And, like some viewers, McRaney was beginning to wonder how this family could keep driving around the country in that big Chevy Suburban hauling that big trailer with very little in the way of income.
"I mean, I own a Suburban - great automobile, if you own your own oil company," he said. "There are just practical things like that that would eventually put these people in one fixed place for some length of time."
Williamson promised the changes won't alienate longtime viewers - and she's hoping they'll attract new viewers. And she promised that "Promised Land" won't lose sight of the fact that it began when Russell had an experience with an angel.
"Whatever happens with `Promised Land,' they're still a spin-off from `Touched by an Angel.' They were still put on the road by God. They were still given a mission," Williamson said. "And whether they're on the road or whether they're at school or at work, the mission is still there."