Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward premieres October 1. Craig Robinson, who played warehouse guy Darryl on The Office, hosts the Hearst Media Production Group half-hour syndicated show. 

Much more than just trick basketball, the program sends the current Globetrotters out to various communities, where people are doing a bit of good for the neighborhood. The players pitch in on the community projects, and pass along a couple hoops tricks too. 

After Robinson greets viewers from a basketball court set, to the tune of “Sweet Georgia Brown,” of course, the first segment in the pilot sees players, including TNT, Torch and Hammer (all Trotters go by nicknames), venture to Adair Park in Atlanta, where art students have painted stunning murals on the surface of a public basketball court. The players pitch in on the “Art in the Paint” initiative by affixing rims to the barren backboards and trying a few trick shots. 

“When you restore these basketball courts, you essentially restore a community,” Torch said. 

Next, some Trotters, including Bulldog, Cheese and Hot Shot (Jahmani “Hot Shot” Swanson has the “genetic condition of dwarfism,” according to the Globetrotters website, and is the shortest Globetrotter in history), visit an urban garden in Washington, D.C., and learn about healthy drinking water. 

The segments end with the Globetrotters showing off their hoops skills, and teaching the kids a trick or two. 

Next up in the pilot is a segment about bullying, where a young man reflects on being bullied in school, including schoolmates making fun of his Globetrotters jersey. Globetrotter Zeus visited the school to talk about bullying, and brought the bullied child up to the front of the assembly for a hug. Globetrotter Bull mentions “spreading positivity and joy in each of these communities that we’re gonna touch.”

The final segment sees Donte Harrison, known as Hammer, skydive from 13,000 feet — and dunk a basketball just before he lands. “I just love the feeling of doing things that are out of this world,” he explains. 

That segment could’ve gone a few minutes longer, but it is nonetheless a thrill to watch. 

The Globetrotters were TV staples in the ‘70s and ‘80s, including taking on the Professor, Skipper and other castaways on The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island. 

Here in New York, the show is on WNBC, at 11 a.m. on Saturdays, part of NBC’s “The More You Know” programming block. 

Besides hosting The Masked Dancer on Fox, Robinson’s roles include the movies Hot Tub Time Machine and Dolemite Is My Name. He’s funny and likable in his short scenes introducing segments. 

While the Play It Forward segments end with a few basketball tricks, I could’ve used a bit more on-court action — the Trotters trouncing the modern-day Washington Generals with an array of otherworldly court craftsmanship. A bit more basketball would help to make the likes of Bulldog, Cheese and Hammer household names, the way Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal were decades ago, which would give the community segments a little bit more sizzle. More hoops tricks would probably also work well for the Play It Forward target audience on social platforms. 

But Play It Forward is an uplifting show that passes on positive messages for kid viewers — and will even toss them a few real-life facts. ■

BMI is adding some new, diverse, voices to its board.

Veteran TV and radio executives Alfred Liggins, III and Craig Robinson have been named directors of BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.), effective April 1.

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Music licensing organization BMI represents the public performance rights of 17 million works from over 1.1 million songwriters, composers and publishers.

Liggins is CEO of Urban One and chairman and CEO of its cable network TV One (Comcast is a partner). Robinson is EVP and chief diversity officer for NBCUniversal. His mother and partner, Catherine Hughes, founder of Urban One, has been a BMI board member for almost two decades. Hughes will be transitioning to honorary director in October.

Among other things, Robinson leads Comcast/NBCU's $100 million effort to "fight injustice and inequality." Robinson's mother was a Chinese American public servant and his father one of the first Black consultants for the Fair Employment Practices Commission.

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“Both Alfred and Craig have achieved incredible success at their respective companies, and they each bring innovative leadership, unique perspectives, and key expertise that will make them invaluable additions to the Board," said BMI Board chair Caroline Beasley.

Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts unveiled a plan by the cable giant on Monday to invest $100 million over the next three years to combat racism and advance social justice and equality in addition to the commitments the company has made to thousands of organizations to help underrepresented communities.

Roberts outlined details of the plan in a letter to employees Monday, adding that Comcast EVP and chief diversity officer Craig Robinson will be spearheading the efforts along with the chairman himself on the corporate level and will coordinate with executives across its business units -- including Comcast, NBCUniversal and Sky -- to allocate resources and partner with national and local organizations to drive meaningful change.

“Each of our companies will create sustainable programs within their businesses and will be proactively soliciting ideas from employees so that we can build this effort together,” Roberts said in the letter, adding that more details will be shared in the weeks ahead.

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The initiatives will be focused on several key areas:

Social Justice: Comcast will partner with and provide significant grants to organizations working to eradicate injustice and inequity. Organizations will include but not be limited to: the National Urban League, the Equal Justice Initiative, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Action Network and the Community Justice Action Fund.

Employees: Comcast will accelerate its efforts in diversity and inclusion, including advancement, hiring and training, and will educate employees across the company to better understand race-related issues, including Town Halls, speaker series and mandatory anti-racism and anti-bias training. Comcast also pledged to provide financial support to its Employee Resource Groups and invest in its diverse talent, providing them with visibility, opportunity and sponsorship, while continuing to strengthen our diversity recruiting strategy. 

Awareness & Education: Comcast pledged to use its vast media resources behind highlighting Black voices and Black stories and educating its viewers on diverse and inclusive cultures, perspectives and experiences. NBC News will host a series of Town Halls, similar to their Can You Hear Us Now special and pledged the use of its X1, Flex, Peacock and Sky platforms to promote multicultural content.

In addition, Roberts said Comcast will deepen its commitment to narrowing the digital gap in lower-income communities, continuing with its Internet Essentials low-cost broadband service and increasing its commitment to provide digital skills training. Comcast also pledged to provide assistance to minority-owned small businesses that had to close up during the pandemic. For entrepreneurs of color, Comcast said it will create new LIFT Labs programs for Black founders, will invest in minority entrepreneurs via its Comcast Ventures program and will expand Catalyst program, aimed at investing in Black, Latinx and female businesses.

“I want to sincerely thank those of you who have reached out and courageously shared your experiences and fears,” Roberts said in the letter. "We look forward to hearing more of your insightful ideas for our path ahead to a better future. Together we are facing a painful yet powerful moment – one that presents us with a renewed opportunity to do better, and to create substantive and sustainable change."