TV'S DIVERSITY DILEMMA; NETWORKS INSIST THEY'RE KEEPING THEIR PROMISE.

Byline: David Kronke Television Writer

To understand Hollywood's mind-set toward ethnic minorities, take a look at ``Action,'' Fox's new satire of the entertainment industry. The sole African-American employee at fictional Dragonfire Films is a secretary, and the series pointedly opens with the Caucasian head of the production company thoroughly humiliating a Latino with a lowly job in the studio commissary.

The subtext: For the cushy gigs in Hollywood, minorities need not apply.

``There is a little of that attitude in there,'' Chris Thompson, creator of ``Action,'' admits. ``I think that it's justifiable to be seeing that. It's the reality of what it is.'' Diversity in Hollywood - or lack of same - will become a topic on future episodes, he promises.

After the networks announced the fall lineups that begin rolling out this week, it was quickly noted that the new shows overwhelmingly featured white main characters and virtually excluded all minorities. Only one new series - a midseason replacement - boasts a predominantly minority cast and creative team: ``City of Angels,'' a hospital drama from ``NYPD Blue's'' director Paris Barclay and creator Steven Bochco.

The lack of diversity quickly became big news, and networks and producers just as quickly promised that they would do better, rushing to include minorities into some new shows. But the question remains whether this is just a quick fix or does television really have the will to change?

Certainly, race is hardly the only form of discrimination in the medium. Faces on TV are younger, more affluent and more conventionally attractive than anywhere else in society. But middle-age, middle-class people with middling looks don't have a vocal lobby.

Fortunately, African-Americans do. In a July statement blasting the networks, Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, attacked the underrepresentation of minorities on TV. He said, ``This glaring omission is an outrage and a shameful display by network executives who are either clueless, careless or both.'' The NAACP cited a survey suggesting that 62 percent of African-Americans and 63 percent of Latinos felt that TV did not represent them accurately.

During the summer press tour introducing the fall season, most of the networks trotted out the usual boilerplate responses. Typical was this comment from Fox's president of entertainment, Doug Herzog: ``It's a problem that is fairly rampant throughout the industry, and people have got to be committed to change it.''

Minority additions to the casts of some shows were hastily announced, with producers insisting they had devised such changes before the complaints erupted. Each network offered to meet with Mfume, and, eventually, did, though no network wished to comment on the meeting. Fox issued a statement attributed to the Fox Broadcasting Co., not a specific individual: ``We agree that increasing racial and ethnic diversity in television is an important goal, and toward that end, we continue to pursue opportunities both on camera and behind the scenes.''

When contacted to find out if the meetings with the networks had proven fruitful, the NAACP issued a terse statement: ``There has been no change in the situation.''

Chris Albrecht, president of HBO original programming, describes the networks' stance bluntly: ``Each of the networks have decided who their constituency is, and they are spending their money against that constituency. I can only assume that they look at minority segments of the audience as just that - minority segments - and it seems to me that they've made a business decision to spend where they think they're going to get the biggest return for their clients, who happen to be the advertisers.''

Scott Sassa, president of NBC West Coast, concedes ``We don't try to serve an African-American audience - we try to serve a big, broad audience,'' Sassa says. ``To the extent that that audience is made up of large numbers of African-Americans or Asians or any ethnic group, it's good. But we don't have the luxury to program to one specific audience.''

Local and cable stations such as Telemundo and Black Entertainment Television, which naturally draw minority viewers, have intensified the networks' challenge, he added.

But Sassa pointed out that shows don't have to be lily white to insinuate their way into the mainstream. He noted that ``The Bill Cosby Show'' and ``The Fresh Prince of Bel Air'' were shows that drew large audiences without regard for race, and in fact helped effect social change by allowing viewers a look into the lives of people with whom they may be unfamiliar. ``Fear comes from a perspective that you don't know or don't understand,'' Sassa observed. ``Those shows absolutely allow people to see other worlds and make them comfortable with them.'' Which should, presumably, pave the way for more such shows.

Of all the confrontations between critics and series producers during July's press tour, perhaps the testiest and most absurd came during the press conference for ``Popular,'' a WB series about cliques at an overwhelmingly white high school.

Co-creator Ryan Murphy declared that he had begun adding minority characters long before the NAACP made it an issue. So why not, he was asked, hire those actors before someone complains?

``I can't really think of - it was just the casting process,'' he stammered. ``And we were - our specific goal right at hand was to film a presentation, and we had to tell a very specific amount of stories in a very quick amount of time. But it was our goal all along to make this a show about all voices and all people. And I think that we are accomplishing that right now.''

But why aren't minorities in the first episode, he was asked?

``I think we have that in our presentation,'' he replied defensively, adding, ``Certainly, I mean, there's room for growth.''

But where were they? ``We have that,'' he insisted.

Like Murphy, many series creators blamed the pilot-season casting process, insisting that it's hard to find good African-American actors on short notice. ``You're looking for the best casting possible and sometimes, in the speed of that, you don't recognize the larger picture,'' said Stu Bloomberg, co-chairman of ABC Entertainment Television Group.

But John Wells, executive producer of ``ER'' and the new series ``Third Watch'' and ``The West Wing,'' dismissively rebutted that excuse. ``My experience has always been the opposite,'' Wells said. ``The opportunities are less for actors of color, and so the acting pool is deeper, has always been my experience.''

A major reason minorities find themselves squeezed out of the picture is how the industry is run. Unlike most businesses, Hollywood isn't a meritocracy; here, the best shows don't necessarily stay on the air and people advance on the strength of friendships rather than actual abilities. If whites run the business, and tend to be friendly with other whites - well, you see where this is going.

``The DNA of a TV show is unique,'' Sassa explains. ``You're working with ephemeral things like talent and content. And the chemistry doesn't always work, and you get let down by people working for you. Therefore, you want to work with people you're comfortable with.''

But Sassa admits that NBC could have done a better job in minority casting to begin with, especially in shows with an ensemble cast such as ``The West Wing.''

That insularity in the industry, however, serves as a barricade to fresh, unknown talent not bred within Hollywood's gates of luxury.

``It does,'' Sassa concedes. ``There's not a training system in this industry. To learn this business, you have to learn in the business - there's no secondary market. It's a Catch-22. A few people, like Chris Rock, Keenen Ivory Wayans and Bill Cosby, have been able to create places that serve as entry points for fresh talent.''

In the past, quality series of African-American life, such as ``Paris'' and ``Frank's Place,'' struggled in the ratings - and then, at a time when the networks had fewer, if any, cable outlets with which to compete. Last year, the only smart new African-American series on the major networks to survive into a second season was ABC's ``The Hughleys.'' Recent African-American-themed shows include such abject efforts as ``The Secret Diaries of Desmond Pfeiffer'' and ``Homeboys in Outer Space,'' which both aired briefly on the upstart network UPN.

Ultimately, network executives, who are predominantly white (Sassa, an Asian-American, recalls being miffed as a child by seeing David Carradine play an Asian in ``Kung Fu''), can't relate to the indignity of turning on a TV in their home and being besieged by faces not like their own. Which better serves African-American viewers: mediocre black shows like UPN's current ``The Parkers'' or an outstanding show with a predominantly white cast, like NBC's ``The West Wing''?

Series producers make cast changes for diversity's sake

After it became apparent that there was a curiously high percentage of new series with virtually all-white casts, producers of some new shows went back and added minority characters to the pilots. Here's a look at three shows, before and after.

``Wasteland''

First pilot: Set in New York, the series concerns a group of six, well, friends who were all white, all rather self-absorbed and all, apparently, above mingling in New York's melting pot.

Revised version: Jeffrey D. Sams was added as Rebecca Gayheart's character's boss, a driven member of the D.A.'s office who doesn't think she deserves her job and derides her. Eventually, they will become a romantic item.

Producer explanation: ``I just feel like my eyes have been opened a little bit wider than before,'' says creator Kevin Williamson. ``I think that the NAACP could not have picked a better time. I think their move to make us all aware of this was brilliant and smart and I applaud 'em and they have certainly opened my eyes. I mean, I'm a minority to some, if you want to start talking about diverse groups. (Williamson is openly gay.) And so I get it. I thank 'em. I get it.''

``Judging Amy''

First pilot: In a 25-minute presentation, Lynne Thigpen played a social worker in what looked to be a one-shot appearance. Bill Nunn had a bit part as the bailiff in Amy Brenneman's character's court.

Revised version: Latonya Richardson plays the social worker in what will be a recurring role; Richard Jones steps in, in a far more expanded role.

Producer explanation: ``Richard Jones plays a court services officer, which is someone who runs her courtroom for her, basically. And so they'll have an interesting dynamic to them - kind of a partnership,'' says executive producer Barbara Hall.

``Safe Harbor''

First pilot: The series introduces a motherless family led by John Loring (Gregory Harrison), who has four children - two teens and twin youngsters. An African-American filled a bit role as a friend of one of the kids.

Revised version: The twins have metamorphosed into ``cosmic twins'': Jeff (Jamie Williams) and his lifelong best friend, Chris (Orlando Brown), who spends almost all his time with Loring's family. Instead of painting Chris' parents as irresponsible for not watching him, it's explained that the mother is in law school and the father (seen briefly in the pilot) works in the district attorney's office, so they're awfully busy, and the arrangement is by mutual agreement.

Producer explanation: ``I got a call from Brenda (Hampton, the show's creator) about bringing in an African-American and we thought it was a great idea,'' says executive producer Aaron Spelling. ``This is before the outcry for diversity, which is too late - it should have been out years ago. I think it should have started within the industry instead of the NAACP.''

- David Kronke

CAPTION(S):

7 Photos, box

PHOTO (1 -- 2 -- cover -- color) Wasteland - The original cast and the new diversified cast.

(3) Though the WB's ``Popular'' added minority characters after the NAACP complained, co-creator Ryan Murphy told TV writers the decision was made before the public outcry.

(4) SAMS

(5) JONES

(6) BROWN

(7) Scott Sossa, NBC West Coast President.

Box: Series producers make cast changes (see text)