From the very beginning of the show, Christians have been a core conceptual strand. The pilot began with a tirade against network censorship after, supposedly, a comedy sketch titled "Crazy Christians" was cut by NBS (aka NBC) standards and practices. Following episodes explored the war between the show's creative forces (who want to run skits that satirize Christians and red-state America) and mediating network execs (who realize the economic fallout of alienating the middle-of-the-country affiliates). Not every episode of the show is explicitly about boycott-happy Christianity, but Christianity does make its way into every episode, in the form of one of the show's main characters.

Meet Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson). She's the radiant, likable star of the trouble-making SNL-like variety show from which Studio 60 gets its name. She's intelligent, quick-witted, funny, tolerant, moderate, benevolent and a little bit feisty. Oh, and she's a devout, Bible-believing Christian.

Last week, Harriet's "aw shucks" born-againisms caused conflict in the show's arc, much like they have in most of the other episodes. You see, Harriet was quoted in some gossip column as saying that "the Bible says homosexuality is a sin …," which in Hollywood is nearly on par with Mel Gibson's loudmouth insensitivities at Moonshadows in Malibu. Of course, it turns out the quote was taken out of context, and the rest of Harriet's sentence was "… but [the Bible] also says 'Judge not lest ye be judged.'" And so Harriet is a "cool" Hollywood Christian: She thinks gays are sinners, but hey, who is she to judge?

As we all know, those sorts of platitudes can be more offensive than the ridiculously hateful quips of ignorant people like Fred Phelps. But Harriet knows no better—she's just doing what she does best: walking the line between faith and Hollywood credibility with tenuous self-deprecation and "I'm just a good little Baptist girl from the South who can act" coyness. She, like many people of faith working in the entertainment industry, is much less afraid of calling herself a Christian than of the death sentence that is aligning oneself with the political and social values of the evangelical "right."

Christian reaction to Studio 60 in general and the portrayal of Harriet Hayes in particular has been interesting to watch. Many have reacted positively that Harriet's character is (finally!) a Christian character on TV who is not constantly the butt of jokes. Of course, she is the butt of jokes (most often from Matthew Perry's character Matt Albie, her on-screen romantic interest and a vocally secular anti-Christian), but only in the wink-and-nod sense because Harriet has a sense of humor and is mature enough to make fun of herself—like everyone else on the show.

But is a Christian character who is "not constantly the butt of jokes" really a good thing? It is at least a step in the right direction. But whereas the show makes it clear that Harriet owns the label "Christian," it has yet to convince viewers that she (or Sorkin, rather) has a deep sense of just what that means.

Harriet Hayes is clearly modeled after actress Kristin Chenoweth, a Christian from Oklahoma who dated Aaron Sorkin and appeared regularly on The West Wing in its final season. It is entirely possible that Chenoweth was the only real Christian contact that Sorkin had to work with in shaping his "Christian character" on Studio 60. The problem with this is that one Christian does not a faith make, and if Sorkin really wants to deepen Harriet's character and make her more than just two-dimensionally Christian, he'll have to reach out and talk to a few more.