ABC's smart and funny 'Black-ish' premieres

* BLACK-ISH. 9:30 tonight, 6ABC.

SOMETIMES the best way to tell a universal story about family is to be as specific as possible.

TV writers writing what they (and their stars) knew rather than what they'd already seen on television have brought us comedies like "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Everybody Hates Chris," "The Goldbergs" and even "Louie," where Louis C.K.'s picture of divorced parenthood has added nuance to that old "dads who date" genre.

Which brings us to "Black-ish," the newest addition to ABC's Wednesday nights and one of several new shows the network's English-born entertainment chief, Paul Lee, sees as part of his mission to "reflect America."

That's a lot to ask of a 22-minute sitcom, and "Black-ish," whose title suggests a vagueness the show doesn't, can't make up for a drought in network comedies featuring families of color. It should be enough that it's smart and funny. Which it is, though there's always room for funnier.

Loosely drawn from the experiences of creator Kenya Barris and star Anthony Anderson - who's also an executive producer, along with Larry Wilmore and Laurence Fishburne - "Black-ish" stars Anderson as Andre "Dre" Johnson, a rising ad executive whose success, along with that of his doctor wife, Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), has bought their four children a childhood so removed from his own that he worries they might not understand what it means to be black.

Fishburne, in a recurring role as Dre's father, supplies one vision of what being black might mean, while the more liberal - and pragmatic - Rainbow offers another. But the thing that Dre's struggling with has at least as much to do with class and culture as it does with race. And it should speak to anyone whose kids have it a little better than he or she did and whoever wonders if that's entirely a good thing.

Our Everybody's a Critic panel of Daily News readers awarded "Black-ish" an average of 6 on a scale of 1 to 10, but scores ranged all the way from 1 to 9.

"This show was hysterical!" wrote Chrissy Pale, of Mayfair, who gave it an 8. "Even though I think it may cause a little bit of controversy, I personally enjoyed it and would definitely watch it with my family."

Janice DiJoseph, of South Philadelphia, gave it an 8, writing that she "liked how real it was," while Karen I. Carter, of Southwest Philly, gave it a 9, noting that "mixing the old with the new makes for 2014's successful family values."

"Needs a little work," wrote Makena Williams, of Frankford, who scored "Black-ish" at a 7. "Not sure of the direction."

"Talking about race using comedy is not always easy," wrote Harry Lopez, of Mount Airy, who gave it a 5.

The show "has potential, yet the conversations it may spark might be more interesting than the actual pilot," wrote Robert Dougherty, of Northeast Philadelphia, who gave it a 5.

Laurie Ann Powell, of Cherry Hill, N.J., who also gave it a 5, isn't sure she'll watch again, though, "I like Anthony Anderson."

Joy Moore, of Nicetown, who gave it an 8, called "Black-ish" "a reboot of 'The Cosby Show' [with] good intentions."

"It is certainly no 'Cosby Show,' " wrote John Hall, of South Philadelphia, who gave it a 3, complaining that there were "too many racial and stereotypical jokes."

"This show was completely corny," wrote Gwen Blackshear, of Southwest Center City, who gave it a 1. "Being black myself, I cannot relate to the way these people live."