G. LO TAKES CENTER STAGE GEORGE LOPEZ JUST DOES HIS JOB AS NETWORK, DIVERSITY ADVOCATES HOLD HIGH HOPES FOR HIS NEW SITCOM.

Byline: Heather Wood Staff Writer

COULD IT BE the glare, or is network television finally starting to resemble its audience?

Shows such as ``Friends'' and ``Frasier'' are slowly but surely being joined on prime-time TV by minority-led hit comedies like ``The Bernie Mac Show'' (Fox), ``My Wife and Kids'' (ABC) and the new ABC comedy, ``The George Lopez Show,'' which made its debut two weeks ago.

The 40-year-old stand-up comedian and radio host stars as a Los Angeles factory manager whose every move - from clocking in at work to picking his kids up after school - is complicated by his overbearing, politically incorrect mother, Benny.

The hard-nosed matriarch is based on Lopez's grandmother, who ruled her household with old-fashioned convictions and an iron fist.

``She can't let go. The son is married now with a family, but she sees that as an intrusion to her relationship with him,'' Lopez says and laughs, as if recalling a childhood memory. ``She may be a bit over the top at points, but that's how my (grand-)mom is. It's tough love.''

Breaking free from his grandmother's grip allowed Lopez to pursue his goals to be a comedian. But it was her lessons of tough love that would prove to be most useful for the entertainer in the long term.

In the right place

After more than 20 years as a successful stand-up comic, Lopez started getting the breaks he had been waiting for. In 2000, he landed a gig at L.A.'s KCMG-FM (92.3), reaching thousands of rush-hour commuters as the region's first Latino morning DJ on an English-language station. A string of TV and film credits would soon follow, including a role in last year's HBO movie ``Real Women Have Curves,'' which took home top awards at this year's Sundance Festival.

To make it on network TV, however, Lopez had to suffer a few setbacks. The comedian had been courted in the past to star in a variety of TV sitcoms, but the opportunities, he says, weren't worth the risks.

``They always wanted to make me an immigrant of some sort,'' says Lopez, citing the way most on-screen Latino actors have been portrayed in the past. ``I'd rather get out of the business completely if that's what I had to do.''

Luckily, fate intervened. One night, while Lopez was performing in an Austin comedy club, Sandra Bullock, who has a house in the city, walked in. The actress was so impressed with Lopez's comedy - an in-your-face shtick riddled with personal tales of sneaking into Dodger Stadium as a child, family dysfunction and white-on-Mexican racism - that she handed over to Lopez what was supposed to be her own TV starring vehicle.

``Sandy was looking for comedians to star in her show,'' Lopez says. ``All the roads led to me - thank God. Sandy likes to say, 'It went from me, me, me to (finding) George and then it became, George, George, George.' She did not relinquish her desire and her zest for making this show happen until it happened.''

While Bullock guest-stars in tonight's episode, the high-profile actress will mainly stay behind the scenes as one of the show's executive producers. Another guiding hand is veteran sitcom producer Bruce Helford (``The Drew Carey Show,'' ``Roseanne'').

``It's like joining the Yankees,'' says Lopez. ``Your chances of winning are pretty good.''

No guarantees

But even with an established comedic talent at the helm, the deep-pockets marketing of a major network (including post-Oscars commercial spots featuring Lopez in a green, low-cut dress, dubbed ``The Other J-Lo'') and the backing of a Hollywood leading lady, ``The George Lopez Show'' still must overcome a few obstacles.

Network TV has a history of chewing up and spitting out comedian-led sitcoms that don't instantly resonate with audiences, and so far the show has had so-so ratings.

``I think there's a difference between a stand-up who has a great routine and a stand-up who paints a strong narrative story,'' says Susan Lyne, President of Entertainment for ABC. ``We've all seen great people with great shticks that make you laugh, but they're not necessarily going to be able to take that material and create a rich sitcom world out of it.''

Since Lopez's comedy is character-driven, Lyne says it always had the makings of a narrative story.

``I think these are truly likable people,'' she says. ``This is a genre, the family comedy, that has a strong history on ABC. The humor comes from George's real life. It's a strong, personal family comedy, and that's always been a great place to begin. It's also appealing that this is a Latino family because we haven't seen that on television.''

Therein lies the second obstacle. We've seen Latinos on TV, but we haven't seen them succeed; not in leading roles at least. The last sitcom with a Latino lead actor was Paul Rodriguez's short-lived ``a.k.a. Pablo,'' which aired on ABC for just five weeks in 1984. And current dramas like Showtime's ``Resurrection Blvd.'' and PBS' ``An American Family,'' while critically acclaimed, don't draw the kinds of ratings that cause much of a stir outside of Latino communities.

Carry that weight

``Lopez'' also faces the added pressure of living up to the great expectations that advocacy groups have put on the shoulders of network TV.

```We expect that this is gonna be the year when all the plans that have been put to work are going to pay off,'' says Alex Nogales, president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, one of the groups that called for a 1999 boycott of network TV based on a lack of minorities on and off the screen. ``One of the greatest examples of that for the Latino community is 'The George Lopez Show.' ''

With the 2000 Census, Latinos officially became the largest minority in America, with numbers reaching beyond 35 million. But according to Nogales, their representation on television screens measured less than 1 percent.

``This is not a situation that is tolerable for us, healthy for us, or healthy or tolerable for the rest of the nation,'' Nogales says. ``When everything is said and done, this is not about one more Latino or one more Asian or one more American Indian getting a job. It is about how people are perceived in this country by their depiction on television or their exclusion from television.''

The pressure is on, but Lopez shakes it off.

``I don't feel any pressure,'' says Lopez. ``This is what I wanted to happen. There's never any guarantee. All you can do is maintain your integrity and your beliefs and what you see yourself as. I've always struggled to be a better man, not a better Mexican guy.''

What ``The George Lopez Show'' has going for it is what's made every family comedy since ``The Cosby Show'' a success: universal themes. That is the key to pleasing advocates like Nogales, executives like Lyne and, ideally, millions of weekly viewers.

``It's not a Latino family sitcom,'' says Lopez. ``A lot of people are putting that kind of label on it. There's no, 'Hey look at us, we're dark brown.' We're not trying to draw any attention to it other than just playing it straight. We're just another family with the dysfunction every other family has. I think a lot of people can relate to that.''

THE GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW

What: Family sitcom starring Lopez, Constance Marie, Valente Rodriguez, Luis Armand Garcia, Masiela Lusha and Belita Moreno

Where: ABC (Channel 7)

When: 8:30 Wednesdays.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) George Lopez says his own grandmother inspired the portrayal of his TV mom, played with a no-nonsense demeanor by Belita Moreno.

(3) Masiela Lusha, left, Constance Marie, Luis Armand Garcia and George Lopez star in ``The George Lopez Show.'' Says the star: ``It's not a Latino family sitcom. A lot of people are putting that kind of label on it.''