BEVERLY HILLS — The Bay Area businessmen featured in the new reality series, “Weed Wars,” want you to know that they’re not bad guys. Nor are they “kooks.”

“We’re like most American families,” says Steve DeAngelo. “We say grace before dinner, we celebrate birthdays, and we mourn losses.”

Ah, but there is one glaring difference: They sell marijuana.

DeAngelo is the founder and executive director of Oakland’s Harborside Health Center, the largest medical cannabis dispensary in the country. (A second location opened in San Jose last year). He and his brother, Andrew, along with David Weddingdress, visited television’s summer press tour to chat up “Weed Wars,” which is set for a November debut on the Discovery Channel.

The four-episode series promises to “fearlessly pull back the curtain on a once illegal and controversial world” while going behind the scenes at Harborside and introducing viewers to the people who work there. The facility reportedly serves more than 80,000 patients and dispenses only the “highest-grade” cannabis.

“It’s not some hole-in-the-wall pot shop that’s an embarrassment to its neighborhood,” explained Steve DeAngelo.

The men of Harborside made quite an impression at the press tour. Steve wore his hair in lengthy braids, set off by stylish earrings, and the bearded Weddingdress (he has changed his name) showed up in a purple tie-dye frock.

“(It’s) my personal comfort zone,” he explained. “It’s also a political statement for me on challenging what it is to be a man in this society.”

Based on appearances alone, they should make for some good TV — executive producer Chuck Braverman calls them “terrific characters” — but they want to do more than just entertain audiences. They want to change minds.

“I’ve seen what this medicine does for suffering patients,” Steve said. “I’m confident that, if the American people get to know my staff and my patients, they’re going to support our cause.”

But is he worried that the message might get lost among some viewers beyond the Bay Area who could take one look at the screen and say, “Good lord, there go those kooks from California again”?

“No way,” says Steve. “I’m convinced that more people will fall in love with us than hate us.”

A ROSIE OUTLOOK?: Oprah Winfrey’s fledgling cable network, OWN, could use a big boost to its saggy ratings. Will Rosie O’Donnell be the one to provide it?

O’Donnell stopped by the press tour to promote her upcoming talk show on the channel, and if the way she worked the room is any indication, Oprah might have struck gold. O’Donnell had the critics engaged and laughing hysterically throughout.

When asked how her program — “The Rosie Show” — will complement the OWN brand, which touts “aspirational” programming, she replied, “I think the reason for my success is that I am really not aspirational. I am inspirational in that the people at home feel like they can really relate to me. I am really more like the audience. Nobody is at home saying, ‘God if I could only be Rosie O’Donnell — an overweight lesbian who yells too much'”

O’Donnell said she’ll welcome celebrities on the show — one per episode — but don’t look for her to fawn over people like Tom Cruise and Barbra Streisand as she did in the past.

“I’m 50 now and both of those people have stayed in my house,” she said. “… “My enthusiasm for celebrities has changed and evolved.”

“The Rosie Show,” which will air on weeknights, debuts at 7 p.m. Oct. 10.

THE BOYS ARE BACK: Long before “South Park” arrived, “Beavis & Butt-Head” set the stage for gross-out humor. Now, the moronic duo is returning to MTV on Oct. 27, but some things just never change.

They still “have not scored” with the ladies, says creator Mike Judge.

There is one major difference, though. Since leaving the air in 1997, reality TV has taken over the network, so the B-boys will spend a lot of time dissing shows like “Jersey Shore” and “Teen Moms,” says Judge. Is that cool with MTV boss Van Toffler? Sure.

“I think MTV has been self deprecating since its inception,” he said. “I’m sure the ‘Jersey Shore’ cast will be calling (us) “… but we’re happy that they’re making fun of everybody.”

Meanwhile, Toffler said MTV has considered reviving “Daria,” another animated star of its past. “Daria” still airs on MTV2 and Logo and does “quite well,” he said.

Contact Chuck Barney at cbarney@bayareanewsgroup.com. Read his TV blog at http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/category/tv and follow him at http://twitter.com/chuckbarney, and Facebook at www.facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.ChuckBarney.