It's no secret that the TV world has gone topsy-turvy in recent years: Cable shows routinely draw more viewers than some programs on broadcast channels; the introduction of the DVR has changed the way people watch TV and viewers continue to flee the broadcast networks, watching cable channels instead.

But here's the oddball thing: Broadcasters, seeing their audience erode, began aping cable by putting on edgy shows, abandoning their franchises, including the family sitcom.

So where do viewers look for these shows now? They're starting to turn up on cable. Last summer, TBS had two family comedy hits with "House of Payne" and "The Bill Engvall Show." The former returned this week (9 p.m. Wednesday) and the latter will be back next week for a second season, airing at 9 p.m. Thursday.

"If you look at the broadcasters of the last 20 years, all they've done is give up franchises and gone to more narrowcasting," said "Engvall" director/executive producer and Squirrel Hill native James Widdoes. "In any marketplace, eventually somebody steps in. HBO grabbed boxing. ABC used to do that."

Widdoes attributes the course reversal on the part of the networks to when HBO series, including "It's Garry Shandling's Show," first began winning industry awards in the late '80s and early '90s. Suddenly, edgy TV was in.

"That's what the coasts wanted to see and [the networks] decided, 'We're not going to do everyman television anymore. We want Emmys. We want hip, edgy stuff,' " Widdoes said by phone from his vacation in Nantucket this week.

"NBC, which used to have this blockbuster Thursday night, was unable to develop anything of consequence out of the 'Seinfeld'-'Friends' juggernaut that they had for eight years. They tried so many things and couldn't do it and I think largely because they were competing for the wrong thing: They wanted Emmys."

But sometimes the traditional approach still works. TBS is going that route not only with the content of "The Bill Engvall Show," but also in how the network promotes it. The stars have been sent on an old-fashioned press tour, visiting assorted cities to meet viewers and introduce episodes at viewing parties. On Wednesday, actress Nancy Travis ("Three Men and a Baby," "Becker") was in Pittsburgh to promote the show at a screening of two new episodes to a select audience at Dave & Buster's at the Waterfront.

"It's a show people can relate to," Travis said Tuesday afternoon during an interview in the lobby of the Omni William Penn. "People see themselves in the show."

"The Bill Engvall Show" stars Engvall ("Blue Collar Comedy Tour") as Bill Pearson, a suburban Denver family counselor who helps his patients but has some difficulty navigating family crises at home. Travis plays Engvall's wife, Susan, with whom he parents three children, including two teenagers. Tim Meadows ("Saturday Night Live") stars as Bill's best friend and Cynthia Watros ("Lost") will recur this season as Susan's friend.

"Bill calls it a Red State show," Travis said. "He said with people in New York, it's gonna get killed, but the rest of the people in the country will gravitate toward something like this."

Although many Western Pennsylvanians ally themselves fiercely with the Democratic Party, guess what? They're some of the show's biggest fans, which isn't that big of a surprise: Pittsburghers tend to be socially conservative, which fits the "Engvall" tone of family-friendly humor. In its first season, Pittsburgh was the show's No. 2 market nationally, averaging 286,000 local households. (Orlando was No. 1).

"It's not trying to rewrite the book on sitcoms," Travis said. "It's not quirky or an unusual new thing. It's trying to be familiar and relatable."

Perhaps a little too much so? Last season, "Engvall," under the aegis of show runner Michael Leeson ("The Cosby Show"), avoided the "dumb daddy" syndrome that has characterized recent family sitcoms (e.g. "According to Jim"). Partially "Engvall" was able to do this because viewers saw Bill as a smart counselor on the job. But this season, with Leeson replaced by Mark Kunerth ("Rodney," "Friends"), Bill is no longer seen at work, and in early episodes he looks particularly inept on the homefront.

Widdoes acknowledged the dumb daddy trap is one the "Engvall" writers and producers keep in mind.

"It's a real concern," he said. "We try to address it all the time."

Widdoes sees the show in its second season as funnier, but also more "family-funnier. There's less of an attempt at ... edge."

Also gone: Actor Steve Hytner ("Seinfeld"), who played Bob Spoonerman, a podiatrist in Bill's office building.

"That's exactly the kind of character we just can't service in this new paradigm," Widdoes said.

"I think the show is more of what it's supposed to be," Travis said of the second season. "It's better realized."

Ultimately, viewers will render their own judgment with their remotes.

But here's a fascinating turnabout: TBS's "Engvall," the kind of show that was once a mainstay of broadcasters, will turn up Monday at 8 p.m. on CBS for a one-time airing on the broadcast network. The rerun will be used to promote the second-season premiere on TBS later next week. In exchange, TBS will air promos for CBS's new shows this fall.

Hear more of what Travis has to say about "The Bill Engvall Show" in next week's Tuned In Podcast, posting Tuesday afternoon at post-gazette.com/podcast.

In this week's podcast, Post-Gazette entertainment editor Sharon Eberson and I discuss the season finale of "Lost" and summer TV.

Sunday's premiere of CBS's "Million Dollar Password" drew more than 10 million viewers, winning its time slot and building on its "60 Minutes" lead-in. In writing about the show last week I noted the involvement of Bert Convy in past editions, but mistakenly attached him as host of both "Password Plus" and "Super Password." Convy hosted "Super" and appeared on "Plus" as a celebrity contestant.

Also scoring in the ratings Sunday: USA's "In Plain Sight" drew 5.25 million viewers, beating drama reruns on ABC and CBS, according to Daily Variety.

The second-season finale of Showtime's "The Tudors" drew 852,000 viewers, almost double its first-season finale and the show's second best-rated episode ever. It's already been renewed for a third season.

This week's TV Q&A responds to questions about the Weather Channel, WQED's Neighborhood Channel and an MIA A&E series. Read it at post-gazette.com/tv.