Comedian brings back the family sitcom to TV

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — "The Bill Engvall Show" (7 p.m., TBS) is so traditional, so familiar, so exactly like so many sitcoms that have gone before that it's actually sort of bold and daring.

It's a family sitcom in the traditional sense. It's about Dad (Engvall), Mom (Nancy Travis) and their three kids. It's shot on a soundstage in front of a studio audience, which provides the laughter. It's built around a stand-up comedian. It's the sort of thing we saw in everything from "I Love Lucy" to "The Cosby Show" to "Home Improvement."

It's exactly the kind of show that used to be a staple of network television, which you can't find on the broadcast networks anymore.

This isn't the first time Engvall has done a sitcom — he was a supporting player in his buddy Jeff Foxworthy's show in the early 1990s. And, for that reason alone, it's a bit of a surprise that Engvall has returned to the format.

"Well, I'm not going to break any new ground here. Jeff did not have a great experience in the sitcom world," Engvall said. "When I was on his show and he would come to work and I would say, 'Oh, I can't wait til I get my own show. I cannot wait.' And he goes, 'Why do you want this?'

"And I think the reason he did not have a great experience is because that particular network didn't get him. They didn't know where to put him, what to do with him. And this is where I give TBS all of the credit in the world. They got me. They got what I do. And they've put me in a vehicle that allows me to be Bill."

Engvall stars as Bill Pearson, a family therapist who goes home each evening to his stay-at-home wife (Nancy Travis) and their three children (Jennifer Lawrence, Graham Patrick Martin and Skyler Gisondo). They're not the perfect family, but they quite obviously love one another.

"What I wanted was a show that when people in America watched it, the first thought is that this family loves each other," Engvall said. "That when all else goes to hell in a handbasket, they've got each other and they're going to back each other."

"Also, this is a family that you want to see week after week," Travis said. "And we're not trying to do the quirky, gimmicky, sexy, violent thing. It's people and relationships that you just want to follow and see their stories."

Bill isn't the perfect dad, like the one on "Father Knows Best," nor is he a dope, like the one on "Home Improvement." He's a fallible, funny guy.