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Season 1 – Joan of Arcadia

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Joan of Arcadia 2003 Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
92% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A drama about a typical family facing atypical situations -- not the least of which is their teen daughter's sudden, unexpected conversations with God, who pops up in such random forms as a cute boy or the school lunch lady. When Joan prays to God to save her brother after a horriffic car crash, God appears to Joan to remind her of that promise, and to giver her various assignments that may not make much sense at the time, but always turn out to improve a bigger situation.
Joan of Arcadia — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A plucky Amber Tamblyn shepherds viewers through a probing and thoughtful search for answers in Joan of Arcadia, a delightfully grounded take on divine intervention.

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Critics Reviews

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Robert Bianco USA Today It has the most intriguing premise...by getting the divine right, Joan lays claim to being the year's best. Nov 13, 2019 Full Review Robert Lloyd Los Angeles Times The real miracle here is how deftly the show avoids the soggy cliches of redemption so many of its forerunners have embraced. Nov 12, 2019 Full Review Steve Johnson Chicago Tribune It's all brought home with realism in the family relations and humor. Nov 12, 2019 Full Review People Staff People Magazine Joe Mantegna and Mary Steenburgen are fine as Joan's parents, but the series shouldn't go out of its way to play up the dad's role as small-city police chief. Keep the emphasis on God's plan. Nov 12, 2019 Full Review Tom Jicha South Florida Sun-Sentinel Tamblyn in the title role is a great kid and, with veterans Mantegna and Steenburgen as her parents, she doesn't have to carry the show. Oct 29, 2019 Full Review Scott D. Pierce Deseret News (Salt Lake City) It's oddly appealing, although whether the premise holds up remains to be seen. Oct 29, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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onio n Una de las mejores series que hablan del tema de Dios sin llegar al nivel del fanatismo ni preferencia por alguna religion en particular, y te lo dice un agnostico Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Absolutely my most favorite tv series EVER! Great cat. Great themes, story lines, mesdage. Fabulois show! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Joan of Arcadia — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Joe Mantegna

Will Girardi

Mary Steenburgen

Helen Girardi

Amber Tamblyn

Joan Girardi

Michael Welch

Luke Girardi

Jason Ritter

Kevin Girardi

Erik Palladino

Guest Star

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 26, 2003 Pilot Joan tries to make sense of her first face-to-face encounter with God, who urges her to get a part-time job at a bookstore. Details Episode 2 Aired Oct 3, 2003 The Fire and the Wood Joan enrolls in advanced-placement chemistry, after God asks her to stop being an underachiever; Will ruffles feathers during an arson investigation. Details Episode 3 Aired Oct 10, 2003 Touch Move God encourages Joan to learn how to play chess; Will must work with a psychic on a missing toddler case; Helen hopes a miracle will enable Kevin to walk again. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 17, 2003 The Boat Helen fears Joan is becoming eccentric when she enthusiastically tackles her boat-building project; Will encourages Kevin to join a wheelchair basketball team. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 24, 2003 Just Say No Joan digs out some of her mother's paintings for a garage sale, and the canvases force Helen to recall a traumatic event from college. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 31, 2003 Bringeth It On When God asks Joan to try out for the cheerleading squad, she has trouble explaining her sudden interest in the sport; a baby is found abandoned in a high-school gym bag. Details Episode 7 Aired Nov 7, 2003 Death Be Not Whatever Joan baby-sits for a 6-year-old boy who is obsessed with death; officers assault a black man at a gas station. Details Episode 8 Aired Nov 14, 2003 The Devil Made Me Do It Joan has a crisis of faith after God asks her to stop a classmate from submitting his artwork in the school fair. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 21, 2003 St. Joan Joan is intrigued by modern-day speculation that Joan of Arc was a schizophrenic; Joan becomes a martyr to her schoolmates after refusing to retake a test. Details Episode 10 Aired Dec 5, 2003 Drive, He Said A parolee takes Will hostage and forces him at gunpoint to drive to a remote area; Joan is ambivalent about getting her driver's license because of Kevin's car accident. Details Episode 11 Aired Dec 12, 2003 The Uncertainty Principle God encourages Joan to ask the school bully to the winter semiformal; Will detects a web of corruption in city government; Luke approaches Grace to work with him on a science project. Details Episode 12 Aired Jan 9, 2004 Jump Joan discovers Adam might be contemplating suicide and tries to mend their broken friendship before it is too late; the governor dissolves Arcadia's local government. Details Episode 13 Aired Jan 16, 2004 Recreation Will reluctantly agrees to go away with his wife for a spa weekend; God instructs Joan to throw a party in her parents' absence. Details Episode 14 Aired Feb 6, 2004 State of Grace Joan's partner on the debate team has a stutter; Will investigates a hate crime against a priest; Helen considers teaching art at the high school. Details Episode 15 Aired Feb 13, 2004 Night Without Stars Joan gets jealous when Adam asks a fellow classmate to a concert; Will's personal and professional travails finally catch up with him; Kevin's arrogance provokes Luke into making a hateful admission. Details Episode 16 Aired Feb 20, 2004 Double Dutch God tells Joan to begin jumping rope with a group of inner-city teens who are adept at double dutch, then Joan discovers that one of them is homeless. Details Episode 17 Aired Feb 27, 2004 No Bad Guy A humiliating picture of Joan circulates through the school after she stands up for a bullied classmate; Will finds it hard not to judge an elderly driver who accidentally killed several people. Details Episode 18 Aired Mar 12, 2004 Requiem for a Third Grade Ashtray Frazzled Joan tries to juggle household chores with her other commitments; Will, Toni and a police suspect get stuck on an elevator with a woman who goes into labor. Details Episode 19 Aired Apr 2, 2004 Do the Math An old record album causes Joan's piano teacher to recall a painful, life-altering moment from her past; Joan decides to track down her father's half brother. Details Episode 20 Aired Apr 30, 2004 Anonymous Joan joins the yearbook staff as a photographer hoping to impress Adam with her hidden talent; Will and Toni set up a sting for a man planning to hire a hitman. Details Episode 21 Aired May 7, 2004 Vanity, Thy Name Is Human God asks Joan to take a cosmetics class; Kevin does not react well when he crosses paths with the last girl he dated before his accident. Details Episode 22 Aired May 14, 2004 The Gift After God tells Joan to give Adam a gift, she finds something that leads her to wonder if God is suggesting she have sex with Adam. Details Episode 23 Aired May 21, 2004 Silence An illness causes Joan to doubt the existence of God; strange dreams and unusual events make Will and Helen rethink their beliefs. Details

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Joan of Arcadia — Season 1

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Season Info

Director
Steve Gomer, David Petrarca, James Hayman, Kevin Dowling, Martha Mitchell, Elodie Keene, Timothy Busfield, Peter Levin, Jerry Levine
Executive Producer
Barbara Hall, James Hayman
Screenwriter
Barbara Hall, Randy Anderson, Tom Garrigus, Hart Hanson, Joy Gregory, David Grae, Antoinette Stella, Robert Girardi, Sibyl Gardner
Network
CBS
Rating
TV-PG
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 26, 2003