New on the tube: "Cavemen," "Carpoolers"

  First of all, the good news for all Kansas City: John Lehr is not attached to "Cavemen."

Lehr, who's from here, was the first actor to appear in a Geico ad layered up in prostheses and hair, pioneering the role of the modern day Cro-Magnon whose job it is to bear the cross for all us schlubs who struggle to obtain competitive quotes on car insurance.  

But even though Lehr helped set in motion the chain of events by which a 30-second TV commercial was turned into this 30-minute sitcom, he had a prior commitment (his TBS comedy “10 Items or Less,” returning midseason). And thus did he dodge what may well be, for all involved, a career-killing bullet.   I just don't see how this got off the drawing board. (It should be noted, out of fairness, that I've only seen the pilot, and that it's been recast and rewritten and reshot — though not, I would point out, re-released to critics.)

The central joke of “Cavemen” — which debuts tonight on ABC — is that Cro-Magnons have become part of our society, but their biological differences have relegated them to a sort of cultural sideshow, so that non-cavemen can comment on their strange looks, strange habits, even their sexual habits, seemingly with impunity.

Here's the stupid part: The show's writers and producers deny that this is in any way an allegory for racism. Of course it's an allegory for racism. Even if “Cavemen” were brilliantly executed, it would still rely on the residual memory of an earlier, uglier time in American history. Kevin Willmott knew that when he crafted fake Confederate TV ads for his “C.S.A.” mockumentary, and the subtext is here too, even if everyone involved denies it.  

Leaving that aside, it's a one-joke sitcom that I've already written too much about.  

The good news is that ABC can double-run episodes of “Carpoolers,” also premiering tonight, to fill the hole in the schedule that's left after “Cavemen” is driven off the air by low ratings and a grassroots protest of outraged viewers led by Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the NAACP and, who knows, maybe the Bill O'Reilly fan club.   Not that “Carpoolers,” a show about four guys who share a ride to work every day is going to steal the Emmy from “30 Rock” next year. From what I can tell, it's going to be the same show every show. Four guys ride to work, sing some hilariously lame song from my teenage years together, then, inevitably, stick their noses into each others' predictably bizarre home lives. Yet even though this comedy wears its seat belt and keeps under the speed limit, it's miles funnier than anything Jim Belushi ever starred in.   Yes, I kind of like “Carpoolers,” and in this age of the beleaguered sitcom, that's high praise.