‘HOW WE ROLL’ DEBUTS TONIGHT ON CBS

“How We Roll,” the new sitcom loosely based on the life of pro bowler Tom Smallwood, is scheduled to debut tonight on CBS.

“It’s a show about relationships,” says Pete Holmes, who portrays the Smallwood-based character. “There’s a mentor relationship, a husband-and-wife relationship, a best-friend relationship.”

And the thing about relationships, says Chi McBride, who plays the owner of Archie’s Lanes (“Home of the Curly Fry”) and the Moore character’s mentor, is “they involve something you can’t fake, which is chemistry. I have genuine affection for Pete and he feels the same. That carries over into the work that we do.”

The relationship between Tom and Archie also is important to see, McBride says, following the few years of turmoil that America has been through.

“I think it’s beautiful to see two adult men invest in a father-and-son relationship,” he says. “It cuts a number of barriers, from age to race, and it’s never mentioned on the show. When two people genuinely care for each other, it comes through. It’s not avoided; it just isn’t mentioned.”

You can read much more about “How We Roll” — including the identity of the coach who helped Holmes “not look terrible,” as Holmes put it, on the lanes — in the April issue of BCM.