The New TV Season, One Stereotype at a Time

Colleen Hayes/ABC Liza Lapira, left, Lauren Ash and Rebel Wilson in “Super Fun Night,” coming next season to ABC.

The America we live in and the America we (and the rest of the world) see on television: they're different places that may be more similar than we would like to admit. The broadcast upfronts, held in New York this week, offered a first look at 35 new prime-time shows due in the 2013-14 season. Based on the trailers released by ABC, CBS, CW, Fox and NBC, here are a few characteristics of made-for-TV America.

To be the star of the show, it helps to be white. In 27 of the 35 shows, or 77 percent, it appears that the lead character or characters were white. Six shows have a mix of white and minority leads. That leaves 2 of 35 shows, or 6 percent, fronted by minority actors.

If you're Hispanic or black, you can be the star as long as the show involves violent crime. Ramon Rodriguez is the lead in Fox's “Gang Related,” playing a gang member who infiltrates the San Francisco police. Blair Underwood is the lead in NBC's “Ironside” remake, as a police officer who is in a wheelchair because he was shot on the job.

Talented minority actors are in demand to play white characters' bosses, sidekicks and underlings. Andre Braugher? Andy Samberg's captain in Fox's “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” (It's a twofer: Terry Crews plays the sergeant.) Liza Lapira? Rebel Wilson's wingwoman in “Super Fun Night” on ABC. Michael Ealy? Karl Urban's android partner in Fox's “Almost Human.” Harry Lennix? Megan Boone's boss in NBC's “Blacklist.” Wendell Pierce? Michael J. Fox's producer in “The Michael J. Fox Show.” Nonso Anozie? Jonathan Rhys Meyers's Renfield in NBC's “Dracula.” J. B. Smoove? Will Arnett's cameraman in “The Millers” on CBS. Nicole Beharie and John Cho? Deputies to Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) in Fox's “Sleepy Hollow.”

If you're a woman and you're the undisputed star of your show, you're probably on ABC. You're definitely not on Fox or NBC. Nine shows (26 percent) appear to fit this definition: Maggie Lawson in “Back in the Game,” Tricia Helfer in “Killer Women,” Hannah Ware in “Betrayal,” Sophie Lowe in “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland,” Ms. Wilson in “Super Fun Night” and Malin Akerman in “Trophy Wife,” all on ABC; Toni Collette in “Hostages” and Anna Faris and Allison Janney in “Mom” on CBS; and Adelaide Kane in “Reign” on CW.

If you're an Asian woman, you'll be promiscuous, angry or violent. Promiscuous: Brenda Song's character in a schoolgirl outfit, unbuttoned to show off a lacy red bra, in Fox's “Dads”; an Asian mother and daughter on a double date, the mother introduced as “a sure thing,” in CBS's “We Are Men.” Angry: An Army cadet going through a bitter divorce in Fox's “Enlisted”; a waitress yelling at a manager in Fox's “Rake.” Violent: Ming-Na Wen's Melinda May beating a bad guy into submission in ABC's “Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” demonstrating once again why Asian-American actresses routinely take martial arts training. (Corollary: There's a good chance you'll find yourself in great big black nerd glasses, as Ms. Song and Ms. Lapira do.)

Fat is still funny. James Caan surveying a Little League team in “Back in the Game”: “Don't forget fat. That kid lying there is fat.” The troops in “Enlisted” struggling to push a hefty colleague over a barrier on an obstacle course.