This show has gotten a lot of publicity and has generated some controversy because some people think that it perpetuates stereotypes about African Americans. I like to make up my own mind about a show. so I watched the first episode this past Wednesday. Anthony Anderson plays Andre Johnson, an advertising executive at a largely-white agency.  He is the father of four kids, and his wife,  Rainbow (Tracie Ellis Ross) is a pediatrician . The cast also includes Laurence Fishburne, who plays Andre's father, whom the family lovingly calls "Pops."

I wanted to like this show, but the truth is there were very few times it made me laugh because the jokes were predictable.  The few that did make me laugh were done by Fishburne's Pops; he's very funny. The plot of the show is simple, and the writers kept repeating it to the point of annoyance. Andre is worried that being the only black family in a white neighborhood is making his kids forget their African American roots. His oldest son, Andre Jr., wants to play field hockey and not basketball and calls himself Andy at school to be more approachable to other kids. Andre becomes a bit obsessed with the idea of giving his son an African rite of passage ceremony instead of a bar mitzvah like his son wants for his birthday. Andre Jr finally admits to his father that he can't play basketball well, so he and his friends decided to do field hockey because girls like a guy who plays sports.  All he wants is to get close to a girl.

Also, Andre gets a big promotion at work, but he gets annoyed that he's put in charge of the "urban division". He takes it as a slight, even though he's very proud to get the promotion. His wife points out how silly he's being. He spends most of the time complaining, and it just comes across as petty and immature.

I didn't find this show too funny at all. I think it should be a little more subtle in its humor. I will give it another chance, though, because I did enjoy "Pops".  If you want to see a show that deals with the same subject, but is a lot funnier, IMHO, you should rent or get on the internet and watch episodes of "Everybody Hates Chris." I give this show 3 out of 5 stars, hoping it will get better as I watch more episodes.