Chris Rock rocks the house
Was that a press conference or a comedy routine? It was hard to tell from all the laughs coming from the room where Chris Rock and fellow “Everybody Hates Chris” exec producer Ali LeRoi, Jada Pinkett Smith from “All of Us,” and Mara Brock Akil (again) were holding court. The clips, especially from “Everybody Hates Chris,” drew real belly laughs from the critics, as did Rock’s unscripted responses.

Many questions were asked about the lack of many black-led shows on TV, and why there are no dramas where the main characters are mostly African-American, with the exception of Taye Diggs’ new show “Day Break.” (Look for a report on that later this week.) “You gotta ask the white people that,” said Rock. “Cause when you’re black, everything’s dramatic!” LeRoi mentioned “The Wire,” and “Lost” as examples of shows that do integrate a diverse cast, especially praising J.J. Abrams, producer of “Lost” and “Alias.”

Although “Girlfriends” and “All of Us” were discussed briefly, “Everybody Hates Chris” dominated the discussion. Rock was asked if the show’s move from Thursday to Sunday would help or hurt it, but he says viewers will find it. “Most things suck,” he said “If something’s funny, people will know.” LeRoi addressed the fact that “Chris” will be on the same night as Sunday night football, saying, tongue in cheek, that “I suggest people stop watching football. Sit down and watch family-oriented programming, it’ll lead to a better nation.”

Reporters tried to dig for tidbits about what will happen to Chris and family this season. “There’s gonna be a massacre at school, but it’s gonna be funny,” joked Rock. Later he relented and gave a little more information, saying young Chris would be exploring his sexuality a little bit and getting to know his neighborhood more. The show will remain about the family, not about issues du jour. “There’s no big Reaganomics episode that’s gonna happen,” he said. But there will be another Christmas-themed episode (last year, some parents watching with their kids had to do some explaining when the show said Santa Claus didn’t exist).

Rock was also asked what his mother thinks of Rochelle, the character based on her and portrayed by Tichina Arnold (Rock thinks Arnold was robbed of an Emmy nomination, and I agree.). His mother likes the portrayal, he said, adding “As my mother ages, she tries to act like she did nothing wrong [in my childhood]. She’s doing her heaven campaign. She’s like, ‘hey, I didn’t yell at you like that’.”

The first season of “Everybody Hates Chris” will hit DVD this fall, Rock said, and it will feature commentary by him. He also confided that of the 22 first episodes, he hated three of them, but he wouldn’t reveal which three. “I got three uncles I hate too, but I won’t tell them,” he said.

“All of Us”
Pinkett Smith revealed that Neesee and Robert’s living together “has got to stop,” noting that Neesee wants more children, and can’t pursue her life with her ex-husband living with her. She said a suggestion might be that the two go in together on one apartment where son Bobby Jr. lives all the time, with the parents, instead of the child, being the ones split between two homes.

“Girlfriends”
Mara Brock Akil shared that Jill Marie Jones, who played Toni, is not returning to “Girlfriends.” Brock Akil hopes to use the loss of that friendship as a plot point for the character of Joan, Toni’s grade-school friend, to explore.  Maya and Darnell will be dealing with a long-distance marriage. The show will deal with some of the issues surrounding career success, with Maya’s book deal, Joan’s restaurant, and other characters’ careers.

Random fun from Rock’s panel

• Ali LeRoi’s provided biography answered one long-wondered Hollywood question: If you produced “Pootie Tang,” you will have to live with it on your resume. (Critic Roger Ebert gave “Pootie Tang” a half-star, and, among his kinder words, wrote “This movie is not in a releasable condition.”)
• When asked if the merger of UPN and the WB gave any of the panel pause, millionaire Rock cracked “I thought I might have to drive a cab.”
• Jada Pinkett Smith was asked about her musical career (her heavy-metal band, Wicked Wisdom, has appeared on the David Letterman show), and she said she was “going out [on tour] with Alice Cooper in August.”
• I later chatted with child actors Tyler James Williams, who plays young Chris, and Vincent Martella, who plays his pal Greg. Charming kids, and very well-spoken. Tyler told me his favorite episode is “Everybody Hates Drew,” in which he takes karate lessons to compete with his younger brother, and that he’s looking forward to meeting Whoopi Goldberg.  Martella is up for a Teen Choice award (he wondered who was hosting, and was surprised when I told him it was Jessica Simpson. Martella is also providing the voice for Phineas in the new Disney pilot “Phineas and Ferb,” about two stepbrothers with a pet platypus.