Race and ethnic punchlines don’t work in tired ‘Truth Be Told’

For all the semi-annual talk about the death of the sitcom, shows such as “Last Man on Earth,” “You’re the Worst” and Internet-based imports like “Catastrophe” are proving that with a bit of nudging against convention, there’s life in the format yet.

Then there’s “Truth Be Told,” which premieres Friday on NBC. Seemingly beamed from a parallel universe where “Seinfeld” never went off the air and laugh tracks are still useful, this newcomer desperately wants to live up to its name by addressing how we think about race and ethnicity in carefully managed, 21-minute doses.

The best of comedy addresses what makes us uncomfortable. “Key and Peele” and ABC’s “Black-ish” are just two shows to successfully draw from this well, but this by-the-numbers series created by DJ Nash (last year’s “Growing Up Fisher”) never approaches those heights, proving that looking for laughs in provocative issues isn’t enough. You should have something to say about them too.

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Though ostensibly a comedy about two couples, “Truth Be Told” centers on two friends, Russell (Tone Bell) and Mitch (Mark-Paul Gosselaar, most familiar for introducing a generation to ironic appreciation via “Saved By the Bell”). The parent of a toddler with his wife Tracy (Vanessa Lachey), Mitch is introduced as an ethics professor -- to establish his credentials for managing awkward social situations, maybe -- and Russell is a stand-up comic, which theoretically indicates he’ll be most responsible for said situations.

But the first episode’s reflexive need to be topical quickly feels more like running through a hot topic checklist than situations generated by actual characters. The use of “the n-word” is ripe for honest exploration through comedy (see the first episode of this season’s “Black-ish” for an example), but are we to believe Mitch -- an ethics professor, remember -- doesn’t realize its inappropriateness before Russell corrects him for singing along a little too closely with Jay Z?

Which isn’t to say the show’s first episode isn’t only capable of finding lazy comedy in black-and-white relationships. Mitch asks a next-door neighbor “Jew to Jew” for a babysitter recommendation (ending with Mitch giddily singing the melody of “Hava Nagila” -- get it?), and the Asian hostess of a Chinese restaurant is for some reason suspected by Russell of overplaying her accent.

But ultimately “Truth Be Told” is simply too mired in a tired sitcom formula. Mitch’s wife is a lawyer and an overprotective parent; Russell is overly jealous of the relationship between his wife, who is a doctor (Bresha Webb) and her coworker. Both couples are equally successful and live in interchangeable suburban homes, and much of the first episode hinges on Mitch’s discomfort around an attractive babysitter who may or may not have done porn, a storyline that would’ve existed comfortably on “King of Queens” or another TV relic.

“Mitch, your white guilt amuses me,” Russell’s wife Angie merrily tells Mitch as he backpedals from another awkward exchange. If only we could say the same thing.

Want to read more 140-characters at a time? Follow me @chrisbarton.

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