‘7th Heaven’: A Moralizing Drama with Uncool Teens That Became a Hit

In early 2023, millennial comedian Rob Anderson was working on his book when he decided to take a break by streaming an episode of “7th Heaven,” a show he hadn’t seen since childhood, with a friend.

The plot of the episode left him stunned: Teenager Mary Camden (played by Jessica Biel) steals a glass from a diner as part of a basketball team hazing ritual. Her father, a reverend, discovers the glass at home. Mary’s older brother Matt takes the blame and agrees to return it and apologize. The diner manager presses charges against Matt, leading to a court case. Eventually, Mary admits her guilt, and numerous local teens show up in court with stolen diner items in an act of mass repentance.

“I looked at my friend and said, ‘This is absolutely insane,'” Anderson recalled in an interview. “‘There is just no way it’s this ridiculous.'” 

Anderson posted a humorous recap of that Season 1 episode on TikTok, where he quickly found an audience eager to relive the absurdity of the themes in “7th Heaven” alongside him.

Fortunately, the glass theft was just one of hundreds of melodramatic plotlines in the series about a Protestant minister, his wife, and their five (later seven) children. Over its 11-season run, the pious Camden family dealt with everything from spray paint huffing, alcoholism, gangs, caffeine addiction, bulimia, hickies, homelessness, and even the matriarch’s confession to smoking marijuana.

When the series premiered in 1996, it became a surprise hit for the WB, a network still in its infancy. Unlike other popular series from the 1990s and 2000s, “7th Heaven,” now available on Prime Video, hasn’t seen much of a nostalgic revival.

Part of this is due to its moralistic tone and treatment of various issues. Additionally, the actor Stephen Collins (Rev. Eric Camden) admitted in 2014 to sexual misconduct with three underage girls before the show aired, casting a shadow over its legacy.

However, three former “7th Heaven” child actors are now sharing their side of the story. Beverley Mitchell (Lucy Camden), David Gallagher (Simon Camden), and Mackenzie Rosman (Ruthie Camden) launched a new podcast called “Catching Up With the Camdens” in July. In a recent interview, the three actors described their experiences growing up on the series.

“It really, genuinely feels like reconnecting with your family members,” said 34-year-old Rosman, who was just seven when she was cast. “It has felt so nourishing for all of our hearts.”

The idea for the podcast emerged after the trio, along with Catherine Hicks (Annie Camden) and Barry Watson (Matt Camden), reunited at ’90s Con, a fan convention featuring panels with pop culture figures from that decade.

“What I saw at ’90s Con was people who loved my work, who were like, ‘Where have you been? We miss you,'” Gallagher, 39, recalled. “It seemed like something positive.”

Mitchell “wrangled” the group back together to create the podcast. They now routinely gather to record episodes, often featuring guest appearances from other cast members like Watson and Hicks. Future episodes will welcome additional personalities, potentially including Biel.

Early podcast episodes have a lively, dinner-table conversation feel—chaotic, comforting, and not always productive. Following listener feedback, future episodes will have a more structured format.

“We just wanted to share our memories,” Mitchell, 43, said. “Then, everybody really wanted us to relive all of these embarrassing moments, so we started rewatching.”

“7th Heaven,” executive produced by TV legend Aaron Spelling, was not considered a “cool” show. It didn’t have the edge of its WB contemporaries like “Dawson’s Creek” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Yet, by its third season, “7th Heaven” was the WB’s most popular show, with 12.5 million viewers tuning in to watch the birth of the Camden twins in 1999.

“Before ‘7th Heaven,’ you always had family shows like ‘The Brady Bunch’ and ‘Little House on the Prairie,'” Gallagher said. “In a way, we were kind of the capstone of that style.”

Creator and executive producer Brenda Hampton often imbued the characters with traits of their real-life counterparts. However, the actors learned many of the social issues the show tackled only when they appeared in the scripts.

Mitchell, for instance, discovered cutting was a form of self-harm through a Season 3 episode. Gallagher had never been drunk when a Season 6 episode required him to act tipsy. All three actors had their first kisses on the show.

“Pretty much all of those big life experiences we learned about for the first time when the scripts were handed to us,” Rosman said.

Being on a wholesome family series came with expectations. Biel, who was cast at 14, has mentioned feeling constrained by the show’s image as she gained fame. She rebelled by cutting and dyeing her hair and posing for a controversial magazine cover. Biel eventually left the show after Season 5, reappearing only occasionally.

While Mitchell, Gallagher, and Rosman admitted they sometimes wished to be on an edgier show, they never acted out as Biel did.

“She had more balls than the rest of us,” Mitchell laughed. “No matter how hard I wanted to pretend like I could be the bad girl, there’s not one ounce of that in my being.”

The former cast members also address the dark cloud hanging over the series due to Collins. “We were equally as surprised as everyone else,” Rosman said. Collins is not part of their group chat, and Gallagher described the news as a “shame.”

“It colored the way that we all look back on the show negatively,” he said.

However, their memories from filming remain positive. “We all had a really great experience. So that’s the only thing we can speak to,” Mitchell emphasized.

In his TikToks, Anderson often alludes to Collins’ transgressions but insists that shouldn’t tarnish the show’s legacy.

“Just because one element of the series is ‘gross,'” Anderson said, “doesn’t mean we need to wash away the entire thing. But we do need to acknowledge it.”

Now, Mitchell, Gallagher, and Rosman are parents. Mitchell has three children, while both Gallagher and Rosman have one each. Focusing on their families has been a priority post-“7th Heaven” and “puts the show in a new light,” Gallagher said.

Mitchell stayed with the show throughout its run, appearing later in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” She has since starred in TV Christmas movies and relocated to Colorado. Gallagher left during the eighth season to study film at USC, and Rosman now resides in Maryland, focusing on horseback riding and training.

The trio, along with Hicks and Watson, are set to attend another ’90s Con in September. While Gallagher mentioned a possible reboot had been discussed, those plans have since faded.

“Right now, just be happy with what you got, which is our podcast,” Mitchell said. “You’re stuck with us.”

This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.