SERIES SNEAK PREVIEW: I note the arrival of this new Fox sitcom because a) it’s the first new offering from the broadcast networks that’s an official part of the 2018-19 TV season, which used to be a huge deal but, frankly, just isn’t any more. It’s actually a sneak preview, slipped in after Fox’s Sunday football, and will begin its actual season later this month. And there was a b), right? And b), it’s aggressively average. Not bad, and with a few good lines and bits of business, but nothing that stands out as special. Which, I fear, is what the broadcast networks are aiming to present again this season. Lil Rel Howery, the titular star of this old-fashioned sitcom recorded before a studio audience, comes from NBC’s The Carmichael Show, which went out of its way to address third-rail topics in a comic context – and was cancelled by NBC for its commendable efforts. Rel may end up being as aggressively topical (Jarrod Carmichael is one of this new show’s executive producers), but as it starts out, at least, Rel takes the less bumpy route. It focuses on Rel as a Chicago standup comic whose family life is torn asunder when his wife has an affair, declares the end of their marriage, and takes their two kids and moves to another city. The punch in the initial punch lines? The man with whom Rel’s wife had the affair is – or now was – Rel’s barber. (Talk about the first cut being the deepest…) The barber shows up before episode’s end, and is played cleverly by Eric Lane, who, like Howery and Sinbad (who plays Rel’s dad), has the smooth timing of an accomplished, comfortable standup. (Talk about the first cut being the deepest…) For full reviews, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower and Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.

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