Chris Rock, family entertainer?

Chris Rock maybe known for his excoriating, adult stand-up, but the provocative comic has just become an unlikely hero of America’s vehement pro-family movement.

An advertising group called the Family Friendly Programming Forum has hailed his new sitcom Everybody Hates Chris as a perfect example of wholesome prime-time fare.

The sitcom, which launches on America’s relatively small UPN cable channel tonight, is a fictionalised account of Rock’s childhood, with the comic himself providing the voiceover.

It was showcased at a TV industry event this week, with the family-friendly forum praising it as a show that appeals to both kids and their parents, without seeming sanitised or preachy.

The group even underwrote the development costs of this, and 15 other scripts which they thought fitted their aims. Another three shows also made it into series production.

The forum’s Dawn Jacobs, an advertising vice president with the giant Johnson & Johnson corporation, told the Reuters news agency she was initially sceptical of the idea of backing the show.

She said: ‘In the first two seconds, you see 'Inspired by the life of Chris Rock,' and you wonder what's that about. But past that it was just a terrific script, a great pilot and it's going to be a great series.’

The sitcom, which stars Tyler James Williams stars as the 13-year-old Chris, has also been warmly praised by critics who have seen the first episode.

Published: 22 Sep 2005