Black-ish: Pilot

It is about time that network TV has a sitcom with a minority cast. Sure, it has been done in the past, but not recently and that is just a shame. Now, this season, ABC has two, this one and Cristela, which I will probably review later, once that show premieres.
Andre Johnson (Anthony Anderson) narrates, saying that he has come a long way from the Hood. And he has, he even gets a promotion at his advertising firm, becoming the senior vice president of the urban division. He was looking forward to this promotion but is unhappy that he's in charge of black stuff.
And his son, Andre, Jr. (Marcus Scribner) is trying out for field hockey, which devastates him, thinking that basketball should be his sport. Andre reaches a boiling point when Andy announces that he wants a bar mitzvah. He announces a family meeting and says that he's truly going to keep it real.
He does have other family members. Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) is his doctor wife, who is mixed race. Andre accuses her of not being really black, which upsets her, because no one bothered to inform her hair or butt. Zoey (Yara Shahidi) is the oldest daughter, who hasn't been able to put her phone down throughout the entire episode. The twins, Jack and Diane (Miles Brown and Marsai Martin) are just adorable. When they describe another girl in their class, they say it is the one who always smells like mushrooms instead of just stating that she's the only other black girl in their class. Rainbow is thrilled that they don't see color while Andre doesn't understand why they don't simplify things. He ruined what I would consider to be a great moment in parenting.
He almost loses his job when he takes the bad part of urban, the riots and shootings, etc and puts it together in a presentation at his largely white firm. Fortunately, his wife rips him a new one and says that sure, he might hate his job but he would be even more mad if a white guy got the position over him. He realizes that he has made a mistake with everything and needs to be more supportive of his children, because he is giving them a better life than his own. He throws a huge party for Junior and Junior admits that he just wanted to make a sport, get his foot in the door because he is a freshman and wants to make an impression and feel a boob. "Can't blame him for that," Pops (Laurence Fishburne) says. He is the typical thirteen-year-old boy and that's just great.
Everything works out too quickly after building somewhat slowly, but this show has potential. I wish that the supporting cast would have been used more rather than nameless guest stars. But the family chemistry is real and Fishburne and Anderson play off each other brilliantly. The roles are perfectly suited toward each of them, but Anderson does need to be more serious and less goofball. The other children, Zoey, Jack and Diane need to be more developed because they could be interesting characters. And yes, the family is rich. Certainly upper upper middle class, so this show will not be as realistic as The Middle, but hopefully it will be better than Modern Family. It does need to improve and have better jokes, but I will continue watching for at least a few more weeks. Grade: B