God's chosen teenager is battling a devil of a cold.

"If I sound like a frog, it's because I've got a lot of them in here," Amber Tamblyn says apologetically, pointing to her throat as she settles into a chair on a front porch set for "Joan of Arcadia."

In this shadowy corner of a Sony Studios soundstage, the 20-year-old actress looks pale but pretty, wearing one of Joan's schlumpier coats and clasping a wadded tissue in her fist as she talks about her hit series, which won a People's Choice Award in January as favorite new drama. The show airs at 8 p.m. Friday's on Channel 2.

"It's been nothing but positive," Tamblyn says of the public's embrace of her show. "People who come up to me seem to not want to intrude or get into a long conversation, but as they pass me they'll just touch my arm and say, 'I love your show,' and keep moving."

And, if God comes in many shapes to speak to Joan Girardi, the fans are every bit as diverse, Tamblyn adds.

"I had someone come up to me who was, like, 6 foot 2 and had his septum pierced and had a tattoo on his shaved head and sleeve tattoos with a really, really deep voice, (and he) told me he and his mother watch the show," she says, smiling. "That kind of thing happens all the time."

Part of the reason viewers flock to the show is that, in a sea of reality programming and crime dramas, "Joan" is centered around a loving but credibly flawed family with whom fans readily identify.

That's partly a tribute to the performances of Tamblyn and her co-stars - Joe Mantegna and Mary Steenburgen as her parents, Jason Ritter and Michael Welch as her brothers - but there's a palpable personal connection between these performers today as they get ready to film a scene in the Girardi kitchen.

Ritter, whose character has been partially paralyzed in a traffic accident, pops wheelies in his wheelchair while practicing his rolling entrance. As Steenburgen passes Tamblyn, she reflexively puts her hand on her TV daughter's forehead checking her for fever. Meanwhile, Mantegna, who is also under the weather, playfully bickers with Tamblyn over who is responsible for bringing germs onto the set, while Welch gets last-minute instructions from the director.

"It's kind of crazy, how close we've become, really even since the pilot," Tamblyn says. "The Girardis reflect real life, and people like to identify with that, to say, 'Oh, yeah, I've been through that.' The show reflects the reality of many families, with a little bit of magic added."

"I've heard from a friend of mine who is a confirmed atheist, who told me, 'Your show is making it a little more difficult,' " Steenburgen laughs during a break in filming. "From my mother-in-law, who is absolutely a devout Catholic, to others who are far, far more liberal, everyone I hear from seems to love it.

"I think it's because the writing is so true. To take something this mystical and ground it in this very flawed family (is inspired). The humor made me want to do it. I mean, face it, if anyone is going to argue with God, it's a teenager, right?"

A midseason Television Week critics' poll named "Joan" the season's best drama, even if some reviewers evidently weren't sure what to make of the quirky series when it debuted last fall.

"I did find it amusing when one critic wrote that the show was going to be Joan and God solving crimes together," says series creator and executive producer Barbara Hall, who points out that "Joan" takes a view of the Almighty that is anything but sentimental.

"I didn't actually get 'Touched by an Angel,' although I didn't really see it much," Hall says. "I don't believe God comes and fixes your problems. It's so obvious he doesn't, or at least, he doesn't fix mine. I've lost eight friends this year - that's the world I live in, and that's not even going (into) this horrible war we're in. I knew people who died in 9-11.

"That's the God we have to contend with. I can't do a show about how God is very sweet and if you have a problem he'll come and take care of it. We deal with very dark things, whether it's suicide or paralysis or murder or horrible things that Joe (Mantegna's character) has to look at in his job. I want to put God into that context, not in a world where everything is fine. The paradox is that we are often in this intense pain, and what is God thinking? I don't know, but it's interesting to consider."

This TV family rallied off-camera last fall as cast member Ritter mourned the unexpected death of his real father, sitcom star John Ritter.

"I'm who Jason called when this first started happening," recalls Steenburgen, a family friend of the young actor even before she was cast as his TV mom, "so then I called Joe and Amber and within minutes of getting the news we were all reaching out to one another. I assured his mother we would all be there for him, but while that may have helped us bond even more deeply, it was even more intense before that."

Mantegna echoes her comments about their close-knit ensemble, but says he sensed "Joan" would be an extraordinary work experience as soon as he read the pilot script.

"By page six I found myself laughing, then getting choked up, and I thought, 'I have to do this pilot even if it doesn't get picked up, because this is some of the best writing I've ever seen.'

"I had a two-hour meeting with Barbara Hall where we talked about religion and philosophy and metaphysics, and I realized, 'Whoa, you don't get this kind of stuff on 'Fear Factor.'

"Steenburgen, who won an Oscar in 1981 for "Melvin and Howard" and is making her dramatic TV series debut in "Joan," says she is trying to impress upon her young co-stars what a rare experience they are sharing together.

"I said to them at (the People's Choice Awards), 'Guys, savor this moment, because it really doesn't happen often,' " she says. "I've won awards before, but that was always by myself. I've never stood on a stage with a group of people and accepted an award together for work we are all very proud of, and that means a lot."