NBC's bold 'The Carmichael Show' confronts Bill Cosby and then some

"The Carmichael Show" may not be hilarious, but it's certainly in contention for the title of TV's boldest sitcom.

The show, which officially shifts to its Sunday night slot next week after a Wednesday "sneak preview" of the second season opener, has tackled social protest, religion and sexual orientation. But nothing will quite prepare you for the upcoming episode in which the family debates whether to attend a Bill Cosby concert.

The conversation tackles head on what most in polite society have tiptoed around: Is it OK to boycott an alleged rapist and still dance to Michael Jackson and Chris Brown tunes? David Alan Grier, clearly having a ball as the outspoken patriarch, insists he'll storm out of the performance — the second someone texts him that Cosby has actually been convicted of a crime.

"The Carmichael Show" isn't the only sitcom willing to tread into politically charged territory. "Black-ish," an ABC series that has stepped up its ambitions, dedicated a recent episode to black parents talking to their kids about police shootings and subsequent protests. Not the series' best outing — the daughter's monologue about fearing for her loved ones might have been lifted from an after-school special — but it was certainly compelling TV.

The upcoming "Fallen Heroes" episode is even more fascinating, if only because it will play out on NBC, the network that was practically resurrected by "The Cosby Show." If that weren't enough, the charged episode ends with a swipe at "Seinfeld," another NBC megahit.

Executive producer Danielle Sanchez Witzel has said her writers aren't tackling topics just for shock value. "We would only do it if it feels like we really have something to say, that these characters have something to say," she said. She's also planning an episode that deals with how the family reacts to Muslims moving into the neighborhood.

"The Carmichael Show" may never be mistaken for "All in the Family," but that landmark show's creator, Norman Lear, is advised to give it a ringing endorsement.

njustin@startribune.com

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Twitter: @nealjustin