The new series The Cleaner represents the A&E network’s long-overdue return to fiction series television.

The Cleaner, the first new drama series on the A&E Network in several years, premieres tonight at 9 EDT.

Starring Benjamin Bratt (Law and Order), the show tells the story of a group of reformed drug addicts who "intervene" with people to try to get them off of various addictions, such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, and sexual activity. Led by Bratt, the group of "extreme interventionists" steps in and works with the addicts to persuade them to kick their bad habits.

In the meantime, team leader William "The Cleaner" Banks helps the police by solving crimes and catching criminals. Naturally, all of this wreaks havoc on his personal life, in the great TV cliche of our times, but he has a serious reason for his devotion: he is pursuing this work as a result of a promise he made to God while mired in his own addictions after the birth of his daughter.

Although the show seems likely to be awfully earnest, the descriptions available so far suggest its values are in the right place. It appears to be well worth a look.

As noted above, this is the first new drama series on A&E in several years. The network had made quite a name for itself as a prime source of solid drama series, including British-American co-productions such as adaptations of classic novels, and the superb Nero Wolfe.

Several years ago, however, the network decided to cut costs by concentrating on documentary-style programs and "reality TV," which is much cheaper to produce than fiction series. That may have been good for their bottom line, but it was bad for the culture, as A&E simply duplicated what countless other channels were doing.

Thus the decision to produce a new drama series is a good sign if it means that the network may be getting back in the fiction game. Interestingly, the series is based on the exploits of a real-life extreme interventionist, Warren Boyd, who serves as a co-producer of The Cleaner. Hence it has a strong relationship with what A&E has been doing in the past few years and makes for a plausible transition.

We should all hope for the program to be successful so that A&E and other networks will delve into more dramatic programming of this sort, and comedies as well. That would increase the variety of programming on cable/sat TV quite beneficially.