Several cable networks have put their ratings faith into scripted dramas and comedies that have church- and religion-based themes as a backdrop.

Shows ranging from dramas like OWN’s upcoming Greenleaf, starring Oprah Winfrey; Bounce TV’s first original series, Saints & Sinners; and AMC’s DC Comics-driven Preacher to comedies like TV Land’s The Soul Man and Impastor feature religious overtones that networks say help bless the show’s main storyline and characters — who often than come across more as sinners than saints.

“The shows provide a fresh perspective of the world that we know,” Ri-Karlo Handy, senior vice president of original programming for multicast network Bounce TV, said about the new church-themed drama series Saints & Sinners. “We’re not being overly religious, but instead are showing real, flawed characters that often make mistakes even in the midst of the church.”

TRACK RECORD OF RATINGS WINS

Church- and religious-themed original movies and limited series have generated strong numbers in recent years. History’s five-episode series The Bible averaged more than 13 million viewers in 2013, while National Geographic Channel’s original movie Killing Jesus set a ratings record last March with 3.7 million viewers. (Nat Geo will target the faith-based audience in a different way on April 3 with the new docuseries The Story of God With Morgan Freeman.)

Until recently, though, there have been very few scripted drama or comedy series on television that have featured the church or religion as a main component of a show’s storyline. Unlike reality or Bible-based documentary shows, which tend to have a more preachy focus, scripted dramas and comedies focus less on theology and more on the human and often-flawed characters within the church, executives said.

For African-American targeted network Bounce TV, Saints & Sinners, which stars Vanessa Bell Calloway (Coming to America) and Gloria Ruben (ER) and follows the conflicts among members of a small-town Georgia Baptist church, drew a network-record 1.5 million cumulative viewers for the episode that bowed March 13.

“Our audience is one that really likes the drama and the characters, and this is a great new backdrop that they haven’t seen,” Handy said.

“Not every character in our show is a devout Christian, but they have some sort of connection to the church, whether good, bad or indifferent.”

OWN also hopes to draw religious and non-religious viewers to Greenleaf, which debuts in June. The show, the first scripted series in which network CEO Oprah Winfrey will have a recurring acting role, follows a powerful and influential family and their Memphis, Tenn., megachurch.

Greenleaf gives the network a way to reach its core viewers with drama, as it did with the Tyler Perry-created series The Haves and the Have Nots, but this time with a show that probes religious themes, OWN president Erik Logan said.

“We find this arena to be compelling and interesting … there hasn’t been a lot of exploration to date in it, and I think it’s an area where we see opportunity to put real characters and real situations on screen for storytelling purposes,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s about all the challenges that a large family has, but the background that the church provides is a very interesting and compelling stage for us to have this story and have these very rich and diverse characters talk from.”

‘SOMETHING LARGER AT PLAY’

TV Land has approached religion afrom a comedy standpoint with freshman series Impastor, about a gambling addict who ends up stealing the identity of a gay pastor, and The Soul Man, which stars Cedric the Entertainer as a superstar singer who returns to lead his father’s church.

The Soul Man, which launches its fifth and final season March 30, is TV Land’s most watched show among African-Americans.

The religious themes add a new wrinkle to the show’s overall characters and storylines, TV Land executive vice president of development and original programming Keith Cox said.

“While the church is a background element in every episode, it’s really just a touchstone for the idea that there’s always something larger at play,” Cox said.

TV production company Stephen David Entertainment has tapped former History programming executive Dirk Hoogstra as its chief creative officer.

Hoogstra will be tasked with developing, packaging and selling new and current projects for the company, which has developed such show as Sons Of Liberty (History), The Making Of The Mob (AMC), and American Genius (National Geographic Channel).

Hoogstra was most recently executive vice president and general manager of History and H2, responsible for launching on History such hit shows as The Bible, Hatfields and McCoys and Vikings. He was replaced as History president in September by Jana Bennett, and at the time parent A+E Networks said Hoogstra would be returning to his roots in independent production, which he has.

“I’ve spent the last few months looking for the right person to take advantage of all the opportunities SDE now has with (company owner) Banijay Entertainment, and Dirk definitely is that person,” said SDE CEO Stephen David. “Because of Banijay SDE’s ability to finance, distribute and produce premium shows at any price point, Dirk will be able to work with partners throughout the world packaging great content.”

Lifetime has tapped producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett to develop a special The Women of The Bible to air in December, the network said Wednesday.

The special, which will debut Dec. 7, will retell stories from The Bible through interviews with high-profile women in the faith community including Priscilla Shirer, Co-Founder of Going Beyond Ministries; Victoria Osteen, Co-Pastor of Lakewood Church; Eva Rodriguez of the Latino Evangelical Women’s Association; Kay Warren, Co-Founder of Saddleback Church; and Joyce Meyer, Bible teacher and New York Times bestselling author, said network officials.

 Downey will narrate the two-hour special, which will lead into the debut of Lifetime’s original miniseries The Red Tent. Downey and Burnett produced History’s successful miniseries The Bible.

“The Bible is an inspiring source of some of the most timeless stories known today and what lies within it are important narratives about the women who play a vital role in faith,” said Rob Sharenow, executive vice president and general manager of Lifetime in a statement. “There’s no one better than Mark Burnett and Roma Downey to create this special, which is the perfect complement to Lifetime’s miniseries event, The Red Tent.”