Gary: “It’s not so bad having five kids around here.”
Debra: “Gary, baby, we have six.”

Have you ever wanted to be responsible for getting a television series on the air? Now’s your chance, and it’s all thanks to the internets. And here’s the catch: it won’t cost you a dime! You hardly have to lift a finger and there’s absolutely no math involved.

Award-winning animation writer/producer Larry Swerdlove – he’s won a Daytime Emmy and the Humanitas Award so he’s two-up on me - and his pals have created a new live-action dramedy series called The Fosters about a mixed-race foster family and its trials and tribulations, both funny and heart-warming, emphasis on the funny.

The star, and one of the co-creators, is Gary Anthony Williams, who you might recognize from his roles on Malcolm In The Middle and Boston Legal. He’s also been a cartoon voice on The Boondocks. In The Fosters, he plays Gary Foster and his wife Debra is played by Sharon Battle (you might have seen her in the movie Loose Ends).

Paul is played by Phil LaMarr. He’s done a pile of cartoon voices, but you’ll recognize him immediately from MAD TV. Mitzy, the neighborhood pain, is played by Mindy Sterling who’s been on Chowder and Robot Chicken, but really we all know her as Frau Farbissina from all of the Austin Powers movies with Mike Myers.

And you can see a piece of The Fosters right now.

Swerdlove has posted a 4-minute promotional trailer for the series on the web and he’s looking for volunteers to watch it and fill out an online survey. That’s it. That’s the extent of your obligation.

Of course, if you like what you see (and I think you will), you’ll want to encourage your own family and friends to participate as well and pass the link around. Swerdlove and his partners would love to get 1000 surveys and comments from all of us regular folks. Armed with the research, they can then begin to pitch the show to the networks. Positive results will perk up network ears and give the show a fighting chance.

And when The Fosters gets on the air, you can kick back in your favorite chair and know you’ve had a part in its success. It beats watching yet another episode of “According to Jim,” doesn’t it?

[Oh, and if you’re worried, the survey’s anonymous and there’s no data mining.]

[Photo: Gary Anthony Williams as Gary Foster]