A parent-and-kid com with two old pros

SITCOM PREMIERE "Reed Between the Lines"

WHEN | WHERE Tuesday at 10 and 10:30 p.m. on BET

REASON TO WATCH Great chemistry between sitcom pros Tracee Ellis Ross and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT Where are the parent-and-kid coms? Household humor like "The Cosby Show" and "Full House"? BET must have been wondering the same thing. Voilà! Fresh familycom "Reed Between the Lines."

"Girlfriends" star Tracee Ellis Ross plays Carla, a psychotherapist married to Alex, a New Rochelle work-at-home professor (Malcolm Jamal-Warner, the former "Cosby Show" kid). They've blended her bickering teen twins (Nadji Anthony Jeter, Zoe Soul) and his cute grade-schooler (Zoe Hendrix).

Mom Carla gets jealous when Robin Givens chats up Daddy Alex, with whom Mom can't get romantic without kid disruptions. The teens pipe up when the 'rents don't realize how spoiled their little princess is. And Carla gets personal at work with her opinionated assistant (Anna Maria Horsford) and holistic-healer friend (Melissa De Sousa).

MY SAY There's a reason some actors star in TV shows again and again: They know what they're doing. Ross and Warner click instantly, feel real getting cozy and triumph over so-so story lines and flat comic rhythms.

Their show, produced at Tyler Perry's Atlanta studios, features audience laughter, but feels as though it's shot without a crowd and replayed later to record what becomes a laugh track (a la "How I Met Your Mother" or "Barney Miller"). The snappy pace of a live-audience show just isn't there, and "Reed" needs to be a bit more brisk.

BOTTOM LINE Sharp stars make it worth watching.

GRADE B