ROLE OF A LIFETIME; POTTS RELISHING OPPORTUNITY TO TACKLE RACIAL ISSUES ON CABLE'S `ANY DAY NOW'.

Byline: David Kronke TV Writer

This past summer, Annie Potts was enjoying her hiatus from her acclaimed Lifetime series, ``Any Day Now,'' with a vacation on the Caribbean island of St. Martin. It quickly became apparent that the man helping her with her baggage was a big fan of the show, a comedy-drama concerning the lifelong friendship of two women - one, M.E. (Potts), is white, the other, Rene (Lorraine Toussaint), African-American. In their youth, they marched together during the Civil Rights movement; now, they spend their days making sense of suburbia in Birmingham, Ala., where racial issues remain a subtext of most facets of ordinary life.

``He said, `Everyone loves your show - we call it ``The Healing Show'' ' - I didn't even know it showed in the Caribbean,'' recalls Potts, casually attired and relaxing on an ottoman at the foot of a plumply upholstered chair in the elegantly appointed living room of her Los Feliz home. The room is never lacking for at least one of Potts' three eagerly friendly dogs.

``I thought, (enthusiastic expletive)! This is great!' I was bowled over - first that they got it, and then that it was the show that everybody talked about, which was what we intended it to be - that we had landed!''

The story was quite different on a nearby island, which Potts says, shall go unnamed and was rampant with reverse prejudice. ``I was thinking, `God, hasn't anyone here seen our show?' ''

Well, one show can only do so much, and few shows ever even bother. Tonight, however, ``Any Day Now'' tackles its pet subject head-on, without any feints, as bluntly as it ever has. In a two-part episode to be shown tonight in its entirety, a simple faux pas leads M.E. to explore the roots of her own prejudices in a series of emotional confrontations with her uncle, an unabashed bigot, and her parents, who look for any excuse to shrug off his behavior. A startling flashback suggests it's a miracle M.E. and Rene are even on speaking terms today.

``It started out as one episode, and then it didn't seem to be finished, so they thought, `We'll continue it,' '' Potts says. ``And the two (episodes), everyone felt, were so strong that they had to be shown together instead of a week apart.'' Following the program, Lifetime will air a live town-hall-style discussion of racial issues hosted by ABC News' Cokie Roberts and featuring the show's cast members. (It will only be live on the East Coast.)

``The main idea of our show, we hope, is to start a dialogue, and they felt it would be perfect to start the dialogue and then follow it up,'' Potts says. ``I thought it was a pretty amazing stroke of genius, and it was so fabulous that Lifetime went along with it. I don't know of any other show that's done anything like this.''

The series' racial theme strikes a resonant chord with Potts, who grew up on the Tennessee border in Kentucky. ``I went through all this - there was a lot of conflict and friction,'' she recalls, her voice still pained by the memory. ``I remember when we integrated the schools, and my parents are both from the South, so my family vacations in the summer were all down South, so I remember Jim Crow (restrictions) and all of that. It's given me a great reservoir of emotional information, observing that as a child.

``Since the problem started in the South, I think it's appropriate that the solutions for it come from there. I took that (challenge) personally - they're very personal issues for me. It's a natural for me, and as an actor, it's thrilling for me to have a great character to play. To tackle these thoughts and issues is the best kind of work,'' continues the actress, who has, save for a break to have a child, been on TV each of the past 14 seasons, most famously in the sitcom ``Designing Women.''

What gives ``Any Day Now'' its particular strength, the actress believes, is that ``the characters are just regular people - we're not pontificating, we don't assume to have any authority, and there's the trick of it. It's really the voice of everyman, everywoman, which I think has the greatest weight of all. That's where the real work is, and that's where the real problems are, and that, I think, is where the real solutions are.''

Before beginning this season, Potts says, the multiracial writing crew visited Birmingham and came back inspired. ``I get the feeling that it kind of wrote itself, and the acting kind of felt like that, too. The thing took on a life of its own.

``My understanding is that up in the writers' room, they often will almost come to blows,'' Potts reports, ``because they're going over deep-rooted ideas, fears, things that blacks and whites have not been able to say to each other. And so the black writers and the white writers are sitting there bouncing off each other: `This is what blacks think of whites.' `Well, let me tell you what whites think of blacks.' Until that stuff gets aired, you think, `I didn't know you thought that,' and then it's dispersed, and another hurdle has been cleared.''

Despite the series' critical plaudits, its eagerness to hammer on hot-button issues ensures that no broadcast network will be airing ``Any Day Now'' any time soon. Creator-executive producer Nancy Miller tried to get this done at the networks for eight or nine years, and they had a million excuses not to do it, Potts recalls.

``They'd do it if it was about two male characters, or if race wasn't the main issue. I think it would (work at networks), but it would be a statement and commitment that they are not up to. Networks would meddle with us so much that it wouldn't be what it is. I think, better 2 million watch it every week in its purest state than 15 million see it in a watered-down state.''

Potts believes her show is for all viewers, despite its presence on the Lifetime network. ``A lot of men think that the little tag under the Lifetime logo, `Television for Women,' is a keep-out, no-trespassing sign,'' she concedes. ``And I think, `How many times have you looked at a Victoria's Secret catalog, and there's nothing in there for you to wear!'

``As much as Victoria's Secret appeals to men's interest in the external facets of women, this show would appeal to the internal workings of women, which I think are just as interesting.''

The facts

The show: ``Any Day Now.''

What: Special two-part episode of the acclaimed comedy-drama series about Alabama friends who grew up in the trenches during the civil-rights movement, followed by a town-hall meeting hosted by Cokie Roberts. (The meeting will be live on the East Coast and tape-delayed on the West Coast.)

The stars: Annie Potts, Lorraine Toussaint, Shari Dyon Perry, Mae Middleton, Donzaleigh Abernathy, John LaFayette, Chris Mulkey.

Where: Lifetime.

When: 8 tonight.

Rating: Three and one half stars

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO Annie Potts, right, stars with young Mae Middleton and others in ``Any Day Now,'' a drama series on the Lifetime cable channel that examines the issue of race relations.