Long after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, TV and film producers tiptoed around certain hot-button issues, avoiding anything close to realism.

Now, four years later, Showtime is breaking through full-bore with "Sleeper Cell" — a drama series about a group of Islamic extremists in Los Angeles.

"Sleeper Cell," which debuted last night, attempts to look not only at the war against radical Islamic forces but the war within the Muslim religion, too.

Co-produced by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, the main characters are Farik (played by Oded Fehr), a terrorist cell leader, and Darwyn (Michael Ealy), a black Muslim and undercover agent hoping to foil the band's plans. The Muslim radicals try to blend into everyday life, holding down jobs, bowling, attending family gatherings with the kids and searching for potential terror targets — places like Disneyland, Los Angeles International Airport and the Rose Bowl.

Ealy, a Southern Baptist, says he's in awe of playing the undercover Darwyn, a character "so disciplined" in his faith. But Israeli-born Fehr, as Farik, finds it difficult to play his role.

"I don't like him, but I like the opportunity of trying to play him," says Fehr, who is Jewish. "Yesterday we shot a scene where he's talking about what he believes is the reason why he does what he does and why Americans need to pay. It's challenging to say those things I totally don't believe in and make them believable."

A few months back, cameras rolled for a brutal scene with the terrorists holed up in a warehouse, a gun at a hostage's head. Tension mounted as Farik and Darwyn argued his fate.

When the scene ends, Ealy tosses his unloaded AK-47 to Fehr, who, mimicking a rock star, sings into the barrel. Such craziness, Fehr says later, is a necessary safety valve.

"The scenes are so raw, emotionally intense," he says, "we've gotta keep it light whenever we can."

The seriousness of the subject matter makes that levity rare.

"This is the first show that even acknowledges the divergent view of these extremists versus the mainstream religion of a billion people," says "Sleeper Cell" writer Kamran Pasha, a Muslim. "The entire intention of 'Sleeper Cell' is to show how Darwyn is motivated by both patriotism and faith. That intrigued me."