Kings on NBC

Kings is a new drama from NBC, starring Chris Egan, Ian McShane, Allison Miller, Susanna Thompson, and Sebastian Stan. It retells the Biblical story of King David (Egan - here a farm boy and soldier named David Shepherd) in a modern, alternate history world in which the United States (here called the nation of Gilboa) is ruled by an absolute monarchy headed by King Silas Benjamin (McShane).

Kings opened to troubled ratings, and NBC has moved the show from Sunday evenings to Saturday evenings.

Kings features one of the more intriguing concepts to come down the television pipeline in years. A Biblical retelling on a major network? It's the sort of thing I'd expect more from HBO, and the show's emphasis on political machinations is more Battlestar Galactica than Desperate Housewives or Grey's Anatomy.

Another controversial aspect is likely to be the character of Jack Benjamin (Stan), the crown prince. Who is gay.

From a Biblical perspective, this shouldn't be that controversial. The story of David and Jonathan is well known for its homoerotic overtones (classic quote: "thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women" - 2 Samuel 1:26) and many modern scholars believe that Jonathan, at least, was gay and may have shared a homosexual relationship with David.

However, a large chunk of potential audience won't approve, and from another potential audience - those who might tune in specifically to see a major gay character on screen - the verdict for the two hour pilot was mixed.

It will be interesting to see how these and other elements play out as the series progresses.