BY DAVID KRONKE >TV CRITIC

One of cable network A&E's most popular shows is the altruistic-yet-exploitative reality program "Intervention" - so it only makes sense that it would extend the brand, with the new scripted drama "The Cleaner" premiering tonight.

"Cleaner" stars Benjamin Bratt ("Law & Order") as William Banks, a former addict who has turned his life over to helping - nay, forcing - other addicts into rehab. It's based on the real-life story of a "real-life extreme interventionalist." As opposed to many addicts battling their demons, Banks eschews prayer for blithely lively banter with God: When he feels God has burdened him more than enough, he queries aloud, "You got something better to do?"

You might ask the same of Banks, given that his clients' mortality rate is a smidgen higher than their chances of staying clean (27 percent to 25 percent). But Banks' job seems to consist of grabbing addicts and forcing them into rehab, not cleaning them up personally.

And, as the show presents Banks, he's still got issues with his own family members, who aren't clear as to whether they can trust him. Indeed, it's clear that inflicting his stringent world view upon others has become his new addiction long before his wife Melissa (Amy Price-Francis) tells him, "All you did is replace one fix with another."

All this sounds far more compelling and edgy than it actually plays out. Banks' team, consisting of other addicts, feels suspiciously manufactured, particularly the sex addict (Grace Park) who spends much of the episode in a Lamborghini (and who, it's conveniently revealed, dallied with Banks, creating yet another rift in Banks' marriage).

In a perfect universe, "The Cleaner," which boasts all sorts of dramatic promise, would explore all sorts of tricky and difficult aspects of addiction and be an utterly compelling, unnerving narrative.

In this universe, however, it's a disappointingly black-and-white depiction, with the unruly facial hair of Bratt and his colleagues serving as what passes for edgy. Of course, tonight's installment concludes with an emo song - apparently, it's an unfair universe. Which is what anyone who sits through this could tell you.

David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com

www.insidesocal.com/tv/

review>

THE CLEANER

>What: Benjamin Bratt stars as William Banks, a real-life "extreme interventionalist" who captures addicts and places them in rehab.

>Where: A&E.

>When: 10 pm Tuesday.

>In a nutshell: Not a bad idea, but its depiction of the lifestyle feels fakely gritty.