Kay McFadden / Times staff columnist
Refreshing "Kevin Hill" courts diversity in viewpoints

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UPN's "Kevin Hill" breaks a lot of ground in network TV: a black single adoptive father, a gay-male nanny and an all-female law firm.

But the show also is resolutely traditional. It turns a self-centered, carefree attorney — played by the irresistible Taye Diggs — into an even more entrancing Mr. Mom.

The artful blending of new and old, of wide-eyed emotional manipulation and wink-wink modern touches, makes "Kevin Hill" among this fall's best and most refreshing new dramas.

It was a long time coming, and I don't mean the late-season debut tonight at 9 (KSTW).

Ever since more accurate demographics enabled TV to pinpoint viewers by race, gender and income, networks have been bereft of major hits headlined by African Americans. "Cosby" was the last to reach the Nielsen Top 30, in 1998.*

Instead, specialization has split the once-common viewing experience into cultural apartheid. Water-cooler shows of the last 15 years, like "Seinfeld" and "Friends," barely registered with African Americans except as examples of white exclusivity.

In the mid-'90s, a struggling UPN discovered this underserved audience, adding a roster of African-American comedies. While one or two were decent — "Moesha" comes to mind — most were decidedly low-brow, like "The Parkers."

Then UPN was bought by Viacom and put under executive Leslie Moonves, already powering sister network CBS to No. 1. Updated research found middle-class blacks, particularly women, wanted shows that spoke to their status. So UPN focused on family ("One on One"), sisterhood ("Girlfriends") and romance ("All of Us"). Along came Tyra Banks and "America's Next Top Model," a hit that drew young women of all backgrounds and big advertisers.

"Kevin Hill" is the crowning result of UPN's transformation. Not only is it a terrifically well-crafted series, it has the kind of deep appeal that transcends racial barriers as "The Cosby Show" and "The Jeffersons" did.
 
This effect is calculated and also realistic. Kevin Hill (Diggs) is a whip-smart entertainment lawyer who moves in a mostly white world. His two-buddy entourage is white and Latino. The pilot swiftly establishes that Kevin's a serious player with the ladies and judging from a funny montage, broad-minded in every sense.

But in the course of bootstrapping himself from a Buffalo ghetto to New York City, Kevin has left behind good as well as bad. Home comes home when his cousin dies and leaves Kevin an infant girl.

The acquisition doesn't sit well at his high-powered firm, so he gets a job at a small practice with three female partners: blonde (Kate Levering), redhead (Christina Hendricks) and formidable CEO (Michael Michele).

All this occurs in the first 20 minutes of the pilot, which threatens to be a little too sappy and pat. I feared the show was going to let Kevin have it both ways — the booties and the booty.

However, "Kevin Hill" does a couple of unexpected things.

Instead of the usual matriarchal babysitter, the nanny is a gay man named George (Patrick Breen). George is much better as Kevin's sharp-tongued conscience, because he's a guy who's been around as well as a child-care professional.

Kevin's acceptance of George also challenges the stereotypical animosity that black men display toward gay men. The series sets about exploring different points of view, albeit never in a preachy way.

That theme emerges when Kevin and his partners clash over the case of a woman claiming to have been assaulted by a sports star. The case is surprisingly absorbing and the arguments seen from the male and female sides are funny and enlightening.

None of this would work without Diggs. Unlike many former supermodels who barely can string words together, let alone act, Diggs comes off as a natural: deft, charming and genuine. To state the obvious, he's also mighty pretty.

So is the rest of the cast. A minor criticism of "Kevin Hill" is the unrelenting sexiness; couldn't UPN have thrown in one eyeglass-wearing, conventionally attired attorney? And isn't 28-year-old Kevin a bit youthful for his achievements?

Never mind. These elements clearly are wish fulfillment for viewers led into "Kevin Hill" after watching "America's Next Top Model." (And they aren't all women; "Kevin Hill" didn't accidentally create a prominent gay character.)

Whether the series will prove a breakout hit is a bigger question. Airing on UPN is a challenge, because many whites don't think of it as a stopping place, and viewers have more choices than when Bill Cosby reigned at NBC.

But "Kevin Hill" demands and deserves to be seen. It isn't another police procedural. It isn't another domestic sitcom. Its virtues aren't based on representing — though it does that well — but on the simple, superlative pleasures of a well-done TV show.

*Source: "The Complete Guide to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present," Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh.

Kay McFadden: kmcfadden@seattletimes.com