Ray Romano (Getty Images)

You know Ray Romano. Everybody loves him. He also had the last great old-style family sitcom as the changing of the guard is carried over to more nouveau fare like Modern Family. But now Ray himself is going new with TNT’s impending Men of a Certain Age. Created by Mr. Romano and former comedian and eventual executive producer of Raymond Age is an epilogue of sorts to The Wonder Years, where the whimsy nostalgia and funny-because-it’s-true comedy of that show grows up to show what became of those boys who grew up. Here, instead of Kevin Arnold, we have Ray Romano’s Joe, a recently separated dad with a gambling problem who’s running a party supply store; Owen, played by Andre Braugher — a family man with an aging body who sells cars at his father’s dealership, whom he constantly disappoints; and Terry, an actor/temp who refuses to admit his age or settle down, played by Scott Bakula. The three old friends from college now actually find themselves becoming old, or at least living on the border.

As anyone who’s grown up or is growing up will tell you, anxieties, fears and insecurities that exist in youth don’t pass in age, maybe sometimes they are amplified or, if you’re lucky, they change, but there will always be another challenge. For Joe, an addiction and a distanced wife; for Owen, a struggle in patience to please his father and take ownership of the dealership; for Terry, the crowding emptiness of loneliness. Age is most definitely a bittersweet dramedy. This is established immediately in the opening credits that play like the high school graduation slide-show that makes you want to laugh and cry, depicting our average-Joe heroes growing up from kids, to teens, to college, to men to The Beach Boys’ “When I Grow Up (To Be A Man).” The tone is set.

Yes, there are laughs. This is, after all, brought to us by Ray, and everybody loves the guy! Like I, and ratings, said for years. But here we also have a more honest or forthcoming concept from the comedian; here maybe we have the tears of a clown. Most people don’t know, but Ray is quite adept at playing a little damper, frustrated character — the kind that laughs not just because things are funny but because he has to to get by. This was evident to me when I saw the indie The Last Word at Sundance a few years ago. In that flick, if I’m remembering correctly, Ray played near-suicidal quite well. It was still funny.

Don’t worry, though. Age doesn’t get that dark or I couldn’t have justifiably compared it to The Wonder Years. In the first episode, it is actually Braugher who carries the most weight. Without revealing too much, Braugher, in the pilot, shows enough range to fill a dream reel for any up-and-coming actor. And while it seems like Terry’s character might play lightest, and in a way it does, he has his place. Bakula is charming and a bit layered himself, showing wrinkles of defeat or longing on the California-tanned face of his character. And like I said, Romano plays honest too — still funny, but with laughs now that could double as forlorned sighs. Simply, the show he’s created means to reflect life, not play it up or down, too cheery or too dramatic, but straight.

It always takes time for shows to find their footing, and some start stronger than others (for instance, the aforementioned Modern Family burst out of the gate like it already had years of chemistry at its back), and if Age struggles with anything, it’s keeping its tone at times. Some light bits play too unbelievable (a roadkill incident in the first episode), and some dramatic moments may border on pushing the “-edy” out of “drama-edy.” Age works best when it keeps its even kilter, when it manages to surprise you like life can with unexpected moments of happiness in a bad situation, or vice-versa. I read once that the best screenwriting takes normal conversations or situations and, in a way that doesn’t tip the scales, makes them just a little bit more exciting or interesting. Moments like the undead roadkill in the Pilot are like those stories that could be true in real life, but when depicted on screen become a bridge too far. The trick on anything written, of course, is to trick the audience into forgetting it was written, and such moments can break the illusion.

These are minor gripes, especially for the first three episodes of a show. After three months, no one is disappointed if their baby isn’t doing jumping jacks, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Age came to age better than the characters it depicts. TNT should have a hit on their hands. They’ve got a pedigree of talent that’s enviable, and buzz — you would figure this show’s just for the aging boomer set, but I know a few of my peers that are looking forward to it too, unless…no no, I couldn’t possibly be getting older! That only happens to characters on television! Right? Right? Oh no…

Age has an appeal like Ray’s sitcom did, in that it’s honest. It will cement its structure eventually, but it is to be commended for taking on serious moments when it could easily just coast on Ray comedy. I laughed out loud, actually, but not out of sit-comy wacky moments, just true to life ones, like when Romano’s Joe tries to communicate with an attractive woman while working out, or when Terry suffers road rage, or when Owen’s kids constantly want him to play Incredible Hulk.

In a way, that is the thesis of the show — how, as adults in the face of adversity, we’re all expected to play tough, emotionless brutes who can smash our way through trouble. But men know smashing doesn’t always work, although boys know it can be more fun. So here we have three men who get together to just smash every now and again, to keep their youth how they can. Boys in older skins still talking about girls and sports and bodily functions and each other. I won’t outright call Men of a Certain Age a bromance (after all, that’s a young person’s term), but it is set in LA, and it is much more about the bond between these men than with their wives, kids, etc. It presents these problems through the prism of friendship. That plays across the board.

A great soundtrack, steady direction, cinematography and, yes, writing make Age seem like a grown-up already. A worthy member of TNT (and cable in general)’s line of successful dramas…ahem, dramedies. We sympathize with these characters and their situations, and the first three episodes — “Pilot,” “Mind’s Eye” and “Let It Go” — give each of them moments to shine and things to do. Firm settings, like the guy’s restaurant meeting place and the hill where they hike are established, and whether it be Owen’s conflicts with his Dad or health, Joe with his estranged family, or Terry wishing for a family, we see where the plot is headed. But at its core, these first three episodes show this is a show about friendship and men who maybe, in ways, don’t feel they’re ready to be or don’t want to be. It’s a show about boys. Age leads us to believe that in the Neverland of LA and beyond, there will always be Lost Boys. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.