The next big reality TV star just might be a priest

He’s Father Steve Porter, from California (of course!) and he’s getting a lot of buzz for a series now in development.

From a press release on the program:

The Rev. Steve Porter of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church and Derek Christopher of Lighthouse Blues Productions have spent the last year filming, editing and pitching a reality TV series tentatively titled “Divine Intervention with Father Steve” to big-time networks like A&E, History, Discovery, TLC, truTV and more.

Networks like A&E and truTV have taken discussions to the highest levels, but as the show waits for a green light from a network, Christopher has taken the project to the popular funding site Kickstarter to assist in shooting a new round of stories in January. “Our show is unusual in that we’ve signed three major production deals and have had every major cable network tell us they love the show, but they’re all afraid of taking that final leap of faith of putting the show on the air.” According to Christopher, anything with hint of religion is still considered taboo on mainstream television. However, with a backlog of stories waiting to be filmed, Christopher has decided to continue production independently as a 10-episode web series until a network television deal is confirmed.

The show has received widespread mainstream media attention including a feature story on NBC News in Los Angeles, a front-page article in The Sun newspaper (San Bernardino’s biggest newspaper) and more.

Porter acknowledges that his methods may not endear him to Christian viewers who expect to hear only Bible-based preaching to the unconverted. In fact, Christopher says that the show has had such traction with network executives because, “It’s not a religious show. It’s an entertainment show that just happens to star a Catholic Priest.” Father Steve adds, “The Bible is very important, but there’s more to life than Scriptures. And I know evangelicals will go crazy when they hear me say that.”

Read more. The curious can visit the good padre’s Kickstarter fundraising page for more info.  Meantime, check out the preview clip below.