ABC Entertainment boss Paul Lee took the stage at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena on Wednesday and continued the brand narrative that the network rolled out at last year’s Upfronts: “ABC Shows Reflect America.”

Diversity was the word of the day at Lee’s presentation, which is unsurprising considering that ABC saw success with new comedy Black-ish and (to a lesser extent) Cristela this season. The Viola Davis vehicle How to Get Away With Murder—part of the Shondaland TGIT block on Thursdays—was also the top-rated new drama of the fall.

“It’s our job to reflect America,” Lee told the assembled television writers in Pasadena. “We didn’t pick up these shows because they were diverse. We picked them up because they are great.”

Lee and the network used Wednesday’s TCA audience to push the latest ABC series featuring a diverse cast, Fresh Off the Boat. Based on the memoir from Taiwanese-America chef Eddie Huang, the series is already raising eyebrows thanks to Huang’s essay in New York Magazine this week panning the show.

“The network’s approach was to tell a universal, ambiguous, cornstarch story about Asian Americans resembling moo go gai pan written by a Persian American who cut her teeth on race relations writing for Seth MacFarlane,” Huang wrote online.

Lee brushed aside the essay and the criticism, saying that the network “loves Eddie” and that the series isn’t a documentary.

He also held out the possibility of a “Bachelor” or “Bachelorette” of color, addressing another question about diversity and the reality show that has retained much of its lily white hue even as the lineup all around it diversifies.

Thursday’s Shondaland-programmed TGIT block reflected a great mix of the old and the new, Lee said, with viewers tuning in to “really enjoy what is water-cooler television” while at the same time delivering a billion Facebook impressions.

Read More: Broadcasting & Cable

Brief Take: “We reflect America” is a winning narrative for the network brand in the eyes of ABC. As long as they continue to deliver solid ratings, it will be hard to argue with that pitch.

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