This fall, ABC (channel 7), is premiering three new primetime comedies that follow families of races less represented on TV.

The first show in the lineup, Black-ish, starring Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Laurence Fishburne, follows a middle class African American family living in the suburbs as they begin to realize that they may have lost a bit of their own culture over the years.

The second, Fresh off the Boat, is a situational comedy loosely based on the early life of chef and food personality Eddie Huang. Fresh off the Boat chronicles Huang’s Taiwanese family as they move from Washington D.C’s Chinatown to Orlando, Florida, in pursuit of their own American Dream. The style of this show is akin to the comedy series Everybody Hates Chris.

ABC’s third sitcom in its fall lineup is Cristela, a comedy that follows its titular character’s struggle to find a balance between being a career-driven post law-school grad and the expectations of her traditional Mexican family.

Many already anticipate a certain level of controversy to follow these racially driven shows. Junior accounting major Fiana Sandy was not impressed.

“These shows give audiences the opportunity to be entertained by some of the struggles that minorities feel each and every day. Maybe ABC feels they’re bringing recognition to the struggle of minorities, but they’re just using them as pawns in the media industry,” Sandy said.

However, senior psychology major Emily Addams believes ABC’s move to be a good one.

“I don’t think there are enough minorities on TV. There are barely any lead characters of color, so maybe these shows with ABC can be a stepping stone for the future,” she said.

As Addams mentioned, this could be a step in the right direction, so can be cited the example of Modern Family, ABC’s hit comedy that premiered in 2010.  The show features a large family comprised of a gay couple and their adopted daughter, an interracial couple, and a somewhat conventional family, all of whom are related.

While ABC’s move may have good intentions behind it, audiences must ask why there is a sudden need to normalize races on TV, and why this network finds it necessary to make the race of its characters the focal point instead of just including more characters of color in non-racially driven scenarios.

Perhaps this is in fact ABC’s way of tackling the lack of diversity head on, by making it apparent that their new characters are indeed different than the traditional sitcom cast.