New ABC shows with Cusack and Wayans are nice near-misses

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Today, we stoop to trivia: What do Joan Cusack and Damon Wayans have in common besides an interminable string of performing relatives?

Answer: Both appeared on the 1985-86 season of "Saturday Night Live," both went on to do better stuff and both have midseason series debuting this week on ABC.

And high time for ABC. Having relied so often on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" last fall, the network's show development was seriously anemic. When Regis' charms began to pale, ABC execs were stuck with the likes of Geena Davis, a bad utilization of slim talent.

Midseason is an improvement. "The Job" is a critical hit and has been more resilient than expected in the 9:30 p.m. Wednesday slot against the powerful "West Wing." (ABC, please get Denis Leary a better place on your schedule.)

Now comes "What About Joan," debuting tonight at 9:30, and the Wayans' vehicle, "My Wife and Kids," bowing tomorrow at 8. If they aren't exactly shows that elicit raves, they won't cause ABC to hang its head in shame.

Unlike, say, NBC's dismal "Three Sisters," which has outraged some adoptive groups after an episode last week in which one of the unmarried siblings moaned about her worst future nightmare, "having to go to China to pick out an orphan." Maybe it was better when NBC didn't take stabs at diversity.

Granted, ABC has no bragging rights in this arena. But "The Job" (OK, last plug) is smoothly multiracial and Wayans' "My Wife and Kids" transcends race in the same way that "The Bill Cosby Show" did.

First, though, "What About Joan"?

For many years, we have loved Joan Cusack in all her fringe glory. The screwed-up face, the physical awkwardness, the tension lurking not so deep inside - she's one of our favorite oddballs.

This sort of lunacy is notoriously tough to move to a starring role. For a classic sitcom like "What About Joan," the defining question becomes whether Joan can become enough of a Mary to hold down the act.

So far she's not. But Kyle Chandler is.

In the series, about Chicago high-school teacher Joan Gallagher (Cusack) and her intimate circle of friends, Chandler plays Joan's boyfriend, Jake.

And Jake is, well, jake. Even setting aside our long affection for the sweet, intelligent and sexy Chandler ("Early Edition," "Homefront"), he's clearly the anchor that keeps "What About Joan" from floating off into the same everybody's-crazy territory as shows like "Just Shoot Me" or "3rd Rock From the Sun."

This presents a credibility problem with the show's premise. In tonight's pilot, Jake proposes to Joan. She's not ready. You can tell because her response is more appropriate to a backward 12-year-old than a thirtysomething career woman.

In fact, Cusack displays a repertoire of scary tics that resemble Tourette's syndrome without as much articulateness. Frankly, we think Jake should reconsider the proposition and find some nice, stable TV critic.

"What About Joan" has a talented supporting cast, including Tony Award-winner Donna Murphy and TV veterans Jessica Hecht and Wallace Langham. Their efforts, however, will go for naught if the leading lady doesn't tone it down.

The years are flying by when the former impresario of "In Living Color" turns strict sitcom dad. Yes, Damon Wayans has gone all Huxtable, and Tisha Campbell, erstwhile co-star (and litigant) of the rowdy "Martin," is his missus.

For families seeking wholesome, albeit formulaic, fare, "My Wife and Kids" fits the bill. Think "Everybody Loves Raymond," only more affluent and less funny, and you're in the right neighborhood.

"My Wife and Kids" focuses on the issues faced by a two-career couple raising three kids, from tiny tot to troublesome teen. The series' heart and its messages of self-respect are in the right place; now if only Wayans would relinquish his place - constant center stage - more often.

Kay McFadden may be reached at 206-382-8888 or at kmcfadden@seattletimes.com.