Sitcoms Go Country on the WB

It’s “Wild Country Friday” on the WB tonight, with all four of the network’s prime-time sitcoms featuring performers from the country music world.

On “Raising Dad” at 8:30 p.m., Jerry Adler, familiar to “Sopranos” fans as New York loan shark Hesh, plays Grandpa Sam. Adler gets an unlikely daughter from Nashville in country music star Deana Carter.

Recording artist Andy Griggs sings on “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” (8 p.m.), Naomi Judd appears on “Maybe It’s Me” (9:30 p.m.) and, of course, Reba McEntire makes every Friday on “Reba” (9 p.m.) a “Wild Country Friday.”

Given that “Raising Dad” is a program centered around a close-knit family, it’s tough to ignore the curious addition of Carter. Three times, characters acknowledge the oddity of an immediate relative having a Tennessee accent.

The episode, built around a rift between Adler and Carter over her choice to pursue her singing career, is tepid. Most of the writing and acting is simplistic, and series lead Bob Saget deadpans his delivery to such an extent that viewers may wonder if the actor is comfortable with anything in the script, let alone the emergence of this new Southern sister.

However, Saget does revive for a plausibly sincere fight underlining the hypocrisy of Adler’s disapproval. For her part, Carter is low-key but sweet--particularly sweet in her song to close the show.