In 1976, the network primetime TV lineup had five shows — including “Good Times,” “Chico and The Man” and “The Jeffersons” — revolving around minorities, making network TV more diverse 36 years ago than it is today.

There has been progress in the past decade to make TV shows reflect their diverse audiences, but it has come at a sluggish pace. “Scandal,” the ABC political thriller currently in its second season and helmed by “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes, is the first network show in 30 years to have a black female lead.

It is more common to see minority actors in ensemble casts — for instance, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi and Yvette Nicole Brown on “Community,” Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones and Retta on “Parks and Recreation” and Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park on “Hawaii Five-O.” Network TV shows with a cast largely made up of minorities are rare. Overwhelmingly placing minority actors in ensemble casts or in supporting roles reinforces tokenism, the idea of simply placing a minority actor in an ensemble cast means the show is complete and fair.

The popular ABC comedy “Modern Family” features Latino characters, but no black characters. One could say including black or Asian characters for diversity’s sake would be considered tokenism, but having a more diverse cast would give these groups something to relate to on a hit show.

When minorities are featured on network shows, often they are there to perpetuate stereotypes. On the hit CBS sitcom “2 Broke Girls,” there is an Asian male named Han “Bryce” Lee who is the boss at the diner where the titular characters work. He speaks with a heavy accent and acts in an effeminate nature, a common stereotype of Asian males as perpetual foreigners and emasculated males. This image has been repeatedly used in Hollywood for laughs as can be seen in the 1980s film “Sixteen Candles” and “The Hangover.” The diner cashier, Earl, is an elderly black man who speaks in jive talk.

On a press tour for the show, show creator Michael Patrick King defended these characters by saying he stereotypes all kinds of people on the show, including gay people — King is himself gay — and blonde rich girls. However, people’s perceptions of other cultures can be shaped by what they see on TV, and employing continually used tropes could reinforce untrue, negative beliefs about groups of people, even if one is trying to be equal about it by poking fun at different groups.

Another stereotype is the casting of Asian actors predominantly as medical personnel, or in roles associated with higher education. In “Grey’s Anatomy,” Sandra Oh’s character is an overachieving doctor who graduated first in her class from medical school. In the Fox show “Glee,” one of the two Asian characters on the show, Mike Chang, is portrayed as a diligent student. He has a relationship with the only other Asian character in the cast, Tina, after they meet at an “Asian Camp.”

TV this year has shown promise, however. African-American actors are increasingly getting lead roles or major parts of ensemble casts, as shown by the casting of Michael Ealy as one of the leads on the USA Network show “Common Law” and Andre Braugher as a main character on ABC’s “Last Resort.” African-American actress NeNe Leakes is part of the main cast on the new NBC show “The New Normal.” Mindy Kaling is the star of the Fox show “The Mindy Project,” making the show the first U.S. TV series to have a South Asian American lead. In a modern update to Sherlock Holmes’ assistant, Asian-American actress Lucy Liu is Dr. Joan Watson on the CBS crime drama “Elementary.” AMC’s “The Walking Dead” features a male Asian character who is not the stereotypical nerd without a girlfriend.

Network TV does not have a great record of diversity, but the success of shows like “Scandal” appears to be a sign of further barriers to be broken. TV can truly fulfill its potential when it reflects back on the lives of the varied makeup of this country.

Christine can be reached at: [email protected]