MOVIE SCREEN TITLE PROFILE
TELEVISION SERIES
Joan of Arcadia (2003)
Popularity 24.5
Overview
Joan Girardi has begun acting a little strange since her family moved to the city of Arcadia. No one knows that various people keep introducing themselves as God, and then giving the teenager specific directions to do things. Unsure of what God wants, and if she's even sane, Joan tentatively begins to follow God's cryptic directives, all the while trying to retain a "normal" teen-aged existence.
TITLE INFORMATION
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THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT
Cast & Crew
Performers and key production credits saved for this title.
Top Cast
Amber TamblynJoan Girardi
Joe MantegnaWill Girardi
Mary SteenburgenHelen Girardi
Jason RitterKevin Girardi
Michael WelchLuke Girardi
Christopher Rodriguez MarquetteAdam Rove
Becky WahlstromGrace Polk
Key Crew
Barbara HallExecutive Producer
James HaymanExecutive Producer
Peter SchindlerProducer
ARTWORK GALLERY
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EPISODE GUIDE
Seasons & Episodes
Season and episode information in the catalog.
Season 1
23 episodes · First aired 2003-09-26 · ★ 4.7
E01
Pilot
2003-09-26 · 45 min
16 year old Joan Girardi is approached by someone claiming to be God. He gives her a mission, get a job. Will Girardi, Joan's dad and new chief of police for Arcadia, is trying to solve the case of a serial killer.
E02
The Fire and the Wood
2003-10-03 · 45 min
Joan enrolls in advanced-placement chemistry, after God asks her to stop being an underachiever; Will ruffles feathers during an arson investigation.
E03
Touch Move
2003-10-10 · 45 min
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.
E04
The Boat
2003-10-17 · 45 min
Helen fears Joan is becoming eccentric when she enthusiastically tackles her boat-building project; Will encourages Kevin to join a wheelchair basketball team.
E05
Just Say No
2003-10-24 · 45 min
Joan learns from God that she's holding a garage sale on Saturday, which doesn't leave her much time to sort through her family's unwanted belongings. Among the items she unearths are paintings created by Helen during a dark period in her life. Elsewhere, Will goes to bat for a rape victim even though the district attorney feels the case isn't strong enough. Also, Joan catches the interest of a class charmer and a newspaper job falls right into Kevin's lap.
E06
Bringeth It On
2003-10-31 · 45 min
Joan gets a lesson in popularity when God tells her to try out for the cheerleading squad, and her efforts to impress two pom-pom girls pay off with an invite to hang out together outside of school. Meanwhile, Will's first case working with Det. Toni Williams involves an abandoned newborn left in a trash bin, presumably by a student from Arcadia High. Another story line has a classmate sensing a gay vibe in Luke.
E07
Death Be Not Whatever
2003-11-07 · 45 min
Joan baby-sits for a 6-year-old boy who is obsessed with death; officers assault a black man at a gas station.
E08
The Devil Made Me Do It
2003-11-14 · 45 min
God's mysterious ways once again bewilder Joan, when He asks her to volunteer at the high-school art show, so that she can keep Adam Rove's sculpture from being exhibited. Elsewhere, Will feels pressure from the DA's office to call a man a hero after he shoots and kills a home intruder. Meanwhile, Kevin grows weary of receiving special treatment because he uses a wheelchair.
E09
St. Joan
2003-11-21 · 45 min
God wants Joan to score an ""A"" on a test about French saint Joan of Arc. As the teen hits the books, she draws comparisons to the life of the young heroine who claimed to hear divine voices and was burnt at the stake. Helen finds her daughter's newest obsession troublesome and urges Will to have the entire family visit a therapist. Meanwhile, Will is unjustly raked over the coals for shutting down a crack house.
E10
Drive, He Said
2003-12-05 · 45 min
Each of the Girardis deal with crises of varying seriousness, the worst of which puts Will at the mercy of a crazed gunman. The day also finds Helen reacting with mixed emotions after getting a positive result on a home-pregnancy test. Meanwhile, Joan dreads having to take her driver's exam, and Luke is presented with a major distraction just before he's supposed to compete in a high-stakes competition.
E11
The Uncertainty Principle
2003-12-12 · 45 min
God instructs Joan to ask a troublemaker to the winter formal. Will uncovers secrets that could prove unfavorable to the former Chief of Police and other members of the city's government.
E12
Jump
2004-01-09 · 45 min
Joan is saddened when she learns Rocky (Death Be Not Whatever) has passed away, causing her to further question God about life and death. Will loses his job when his discovery, and whistle blowing, of a political conspiracy causes the town government, and police department, to be desolved. While Luke continues to work on his science project and his growing attraction to Grace and Kevin is injured in a game of basketball.
E13
Recreation
2004-01-16 · 45 min
At Helen's insistance, she and Will take a getaway to a spa, but all does not go well when Will cannot forget about his job. And with the parents away, the kids are up to a little recreation of their own; Kevin and his boss, Rebecca, find it hard to ignore their mutual attraction; Joan, as she is trying to sort out her feelings for Adam, is instructed by God to throw a party while her parents are way; Luke helps Joan pull off a successful party.
E14
State of Grace
2004-02-06 · 45 min
God tells Joan to join the debate team, where her partner has a stuttering problem. A new security system is implemented at Arcadia High School. After the art teacher quits, Helen wonders if she would be right for the job. Both Kevin and Luke seperately deal with the aftermath of a kiss. And Will and Toni deal with a case involving a reverend accussed of child molestation.
E15
Night Without Stars
2004-02-13 · 45 min
Joan's newest mission from God is to work with kids, so she volunteers to help babysit children of abused mothers; Joan becomes jealous when Adam falls for one of the volunteers; Kevin starts to get cocky again and sleeps with his girlfriend, Rebecca; previous events emotionally catch up with Will; and Luke makes a shocking admission to Kevin.
E16
Double Dutch
2004-02-20 · 45 min
God tells Joan to learn to jump rope with a group of inner-city teens, one of whom Joan discovers is homeless. Kevin goes on a date, but not with who you think.
E17
No Bad Guy
2004-02-27 · 45 min
After Joan stands up for one of her classmates being bullied, an embarrassing picture of Joan, taken with a picture phone, is rapidly spread around school. God instructs Joan to join the band. Will must deal with an elderly driver who accidentally killed several people.
E18
Requiem for a Third Grade Ashtray
2004-03-12 · 45 min
God instructs Joan to help out with the a chaotic Girardi household; Adam has his first art show; Will and Toni witness a carjacking. Will and Toni, while making an arrest, get stuck in an elevator with a pregnant woman who is about to give birth; Kevin believes he might be recovering some sensation in his stomach area and gets an EMG (a nerve conduction) test done.
E19
Do the Math
2004-04-02 · 45 min
God tells Joan to take piano lessons; Joan helps her piano teacher deal with her past; Joan learns a painful secret Will and Helen have been keeping from the family; Iris becomes suspicious of Adam and Joan closeness.
E20
Anonymous
2004-04-30 · 45 min
Joan joins the yearbook staff, per God's request, and decides to use this assignment as a means of impressing Adam...
Feeling threatened that Iris and Adam continue to share a bond over their passion for art, Joan vows to discover a hidden talent that Adam will admire. However, her disastrous attempt to be the yearbook's star photographer soon adds to her insecurities about losing him. Meanwhile, Will and Toni attempt to set up a sting for a man who is planning to hire a hitman to murder his wife.
E21
Vanity, Thy Name Is Human
2004-05-07 · 45 min
Joan takes a cosmetics class, per God's request, and Kevin doesn't react well to crossing paths with the last girlfriend he dated before his disabling accident...
Glynis' flattering makeover attracts a great deal of positive attention at school, which only adds to Joan's disappointment when Adam fails to notice her own new look. Meanwhile, Kevin, who remains bitter with the belief that he had been dumped by Beth because he had become a paraplegic, harshly rebuffs her efforts to make peace with him.
E22
The Gift
2004-05-14 · 45 min
After God tells Joan to give Adam a gift, she finds something that leads her to wonder if God's suggesting she have sex with him...
While secretly searching through Adam's backpack for gift ideas, Joan is stunned to find a condom there. She soon wonders if sex is the ""gift"" God had in mind, and she nervously ponders whether or not she'd be ready for such a big step. Meanwhile, Kevin begins covering court proceedings for the paper and ends up causing a stir in one of Will's cases.
E23
Silence
2004-05-21 · 45 min
When the hospitalized Joan is diagnosed with Lyme disease, she begins to question if she's been seeing God or merely experiencing the hallucinations that can be symptomatic of her condition...
Upon hearing that Joan may have been suffering from the symptoms of Lyme Disease for months, a somewhat relieved Will and Helen believe this news may explain Joan's mood swings and atypical behavior, while a concerned Adam wonders if Joan will be different upon her recovery. Meanwhile, the hospitalized Joan experiences a crisis of faith -- and considers revealing to someone close to her that she's been talking to God. In separate circumstances, Helen and Will begin to rethink their belief systems after, respectively, experiencing spiritual dreams and miraculous events.
Season 2
22 episodes · First aired 2004-09-24
E01
Only Connect
2004-09-24 · 45 min
After a summer of therapy and with school resuming Joan tries to return to a ""normal"" life even as she ignores God, who keeps reappearing; Will is sued for emotional distress by Andy Baker, whose drunk driving caused the accident that paralyzed Kevin; Luke and Grace try to adjust to their relationship.
E02
Out of Sight
2004-10-01 · 45 min
Judith, a wild friend of Joan's from summer camp, starts school at Arcadia High; Will investigates a drive-by shooting; Kevin confronts Andy about the on-going lawsuit.
E03
Back to the Garden
2004-10-08 · 45 min
After God suggests she be part of a growth process, Joan decides her science project will be to plant a garden in an inhospitable area to see if it can survive.
E04
The Cat
2004-10-15 · 45 min
God has Joan adopt a wild cat; Helen's Aunt Olive has a stroke while visiting; Will calls Internal Affairs to investigate for corrupt cops.
E05
The Election
2004-10-22 · 45 min
Things get dirty in a student council election as God instructs Joan to support a candidate; Helen must deal with a student who protests another students work of art.
E06
Wealth of Nations
2004-10-29 · 45 min
Gods tells Joan to help her mother collect clothes for the homeless; Kevin attempts stand-up comedy in order to impress Beth; Will wants to counter-sue the Bakers.
E07
P.O.V.
2004-11-05 · 45 min
Joan struggles with the pressures of Junior year; God assigns Joan to work on a videography; Adam and Judith work on a project together; Will, Kevin, and Helen meet with a lawyer to discuss a counter-lawsuit.
E08
Friday Night
2004-11-12 · 45 min
After being prodded by Judith to go on a real date, Joan and Adam nervously prepare for a romantic night at a fancy French restaurant. Little do they know that Judith has subsequently made some misguided plans for herself for that evening, which later causes the guilt-ridden Joan to wonder if she could have prevented her friend's misfortune.
E09
No Future
2004-11-19 · 45 min
As the Girardis are deposed for the lawsuit against them regarding the car accident that disabled Kevin, they look back on their memories of that horrible day.
E10
The Book of Questions
2004-11-26 · 45 min
While helping Grace shop for a dress for the occasion, Joan is delighted to finally meet Grace's seemingly perfect mother, Sarah. However, when Sarah's drinking problem becomes evident, Joan begins to understand why Grace is so private – and why she's long been avoiding having her bat mitzvah. Meanwhile, Luke racks his brain to come up with a meaningful bat mitzvah gift for Grace. Additionally, Adam and Joan have different ways of coping with Judith's death. Will supports Lucy's less-than-legal means of trying to get one of Judith's friends to describe Judith's on-the-run killer, and Kevin's ex-girlfriend is deposed for the trial.
E11
Dive
2004-12-10 · 45 min
As Joan tries to work her way up to the high dive despite her acrophobia, Luke attempts to overcome his paralyzing fear of undertaking an activity at which he might fail. Meanwhile, Will continues his quest to find Judith's killer, and Kevin goes on a date with Beth. Additionally, while reflecting on Judith's death and Kevin's accident, Helen becomes overwhelmed with concern about her family being in harm's way.
E12
Game Theory
2005-01-07 · 45 min
Despite everyone's protests, Joan allows her snobby, Ivy League-educated guidance counselor to advise her against applying to college. However, after Joan relays her plans to Roger, an engaging college student on the campus she's visiting, he tells her that college is attainable and persuades her to hire him as a tutor. Meanwhile, Adam becomes jealous of Joan's rapport with Roger; Will sees a dark side of Lucy; Helen questions her commitment to Catholicism, and Beth finds it difficult to resume a relationship with the wheelchair-bound Kevin.
E13
Queen of the Zombies
2005-01-14 · 45 min
Joan gets a chorus role in the school musical per God's request and is elated when Adam agrees to design and build the play's elaborate sets.
E14
The Rise & Fall of Joan Girardi
2005-01-28 · 45 min
After saving a girl's life Joan suddenly becomes famous but she soon learns fame is fleeting and can even turn against you; Adam has a job interview that doesn't quite go the way he wants; tension builds between Lucy and Will; as Luke prepares to get his drivers license Grace tries to educate him on the harmful impact vehicles have on the enviroment.
E15
Romancing the Joan
2005-02-11 · 45 min
God tells Joan to do an extra credit English assignment on romance poets, which causes her to question her own love life.
E16
Independence Day
2005-02-18 · 45 min
Incensed that Will and Helen have forbidden her to go to a concert with Adam and stay overnight with him in his father's camper, Joan goes anyway.
After Joan has a conversation with God about free will, she decides to use it as a rationale for lying to her mother in order to go on the trip as she's convinced that Helen simply wants her to remain a dependent little girl. Meanwhile, Luke is shocked when the nerdy, girl-obsessed Friedman rebuffs the advances of the surprisingly infatuated Stevie.
E17
Shadows and Light
2005-02-25 · 45 min
Joan is convinced that she's meant to help Stevie keep her part-time job with Adam, despite Stevie's mother's order that she quit. In an effort to supply Stevie with the Social Security number that Stevie's mother is withholding, Joan gets Kevin to use his investigative reporting skills. Kevin's findings end up leading Will to make a discovery that quickly turns Stevie's world upside-down. Meanwhile, Adam is upset with Joan for telling Helen that he tried to have sex with her, and Kevin is conflicted when the local television station asks him to do a report that pertains to paralysis.
E18
Secret Service
2005-03-04 · 45 min
After Price discovers Joan holding an empty egg carton near his freshly egged car, he wrongly assumes she's the culprit and punishes her with a weekend of community service. Without more direction from God than to rise above the injustice, Joan tries to figure out if she's meant to help a bitter former nun, Lilly, who is overseeing the service project, or one of the social outcasts who are serving as a result of their own offenses. Meanwhile, Joan's also upset that her reluctance to begin a sexual relationship with Adam is driving a wedge between them.
Also, Adam meets a troubled artist at the community center; Joan gets Luke a job at the bookstore; Kevin has another car accident.
E19
Trial and Error
2005-04-01 · 45 min
Joan prepares to prosecute a case for a mock trial at school, per God's request, while enthusiastically planning a way to celebrate her one-year anniversary with Adam, who has secretly betrayed her.
Joan surprises everyone with her passion in prosecuting a mock case against the equally motivated defense attorney, Grace. Meanwhile, while trying to hide his guilt from Joan as she plans a special anniversary night out with him, Adam decides to confess his wrongdoing to an appalled Grace.
Meanwhile, Will investigates the murder of an eight-year-old girl and Helen continues her study of catholicism.
E20
Spring Cleaning
2005-04-08 · 45 min
In the wake of Joan’s breakup with Adam, God tells her to do some house cleaning, which puts her in the middle of a school scandal.
E21
Common Thread
2005-04-15 · 45 min
Joan and Grace fear the worst when, on the heels of failed attempts to reconnect with Joan, the emotionally fragile Adam goes missing during a hike...
Despite Grace's attempts to foster a more comfortable rapport between her friends, Joan is intent on hurting Adam with her rebuffs, which she regrets when it appears that his life may be in danger. Meanwhile, Helen is shocked when a priest tells her that the man who raped her 25 years ago would like her to visit his deathbed so he may apologize. Also, Luke is dismayed and intrigued when he learns that Friedman has been getting stoned.
E22
Something Wicked This Way Comes
2005-04-22 · 45 min
God tells Joan that the last two years were a spiritual boot camp for her greatest challenge yet, pitting her against a man with a sinister agenda.
