'Black-ish' season 2, premiering Sept. 23, to highlight major racial topics

NEW YORK (WABC) -- It's a show that is not afraid to shy away from the issues of race. "Black-ish" was one of last year's breakout hits, and in season two, the family is taking on a new batch of taboo topics, starting right with next week's premiere.

Anthony Anderson has earned the right to feel proud of his work on a show drawn in part from his own experiences. "Black-ish" has become one of ABC's signature shows, as part of a prime-time schedule that has been called "smart with heart."

"Black-ish" has been drawing an average of 7 million viewers each week, earning Anderson and his colleagues a second season.

"Our show is smart, innovative, funny, with a lot of heart," Anderson said.

"Authentic" is another word that comes to mind, because "Black-ish" is drawn from the lives of the men and women who create the show, and they find big laughs in the search for cultural identity.

"We want to continue to get traction like we did the first season and just build upon that," Anderson said. "We pride ourselves on dealing with subject matters that are current and timely, and dealing with them head-on, and ABC allows us to do that."

A case in point is the first episode of the new season, which Anderson explained.

"We're dealing with the 'n' word, and the episode is called 'The Word,'" he said. "And so I think we're paving new ground in prime time television with our show. Could you do that five years ago? No. We could not."

But Anderson reminds viewers that he draws his inspiration from television shows all the way back to 40 years ago.

"You look at 'All in the family' and 'The Jeffersons' and things like that, and 'Good Times,' and how those shows were ground-breaking with the language and the subject matter that they dealt with," he said.

While standing on the shoulders of the giants, Anderson wants to keep it real.

"Just continue to be honest and tell these stories as truthfully as we can and not try to manufacture or be anything that we're not," he said. "And I think that's what's resonating with an audience, because they feel that."