One of TV’s leading presences of the last decade is back in a solid new sitcom.

John Goodman, best known for his role as Dan Conner on “Roseanne,” returns in the well-constructed “Normal, Ohio,” which debuts at 8:30 tonight on Fox.

Goodman’s new character of William “Butch” Gamble is every bit the everyman Dan was, except for one major difference – he’s gay. Or as Butch himself says in the opener, “I’m a big girl.”

Four years ago, Butch took off to find himself in Los Angeles, and now he’s returned home, on the eve of his son’s departure for medical school. He has to face the fallout from his extended family for coming out. He then decides to stay, in an attempt to repair those relationships.

Goodman’s Butch is a gay man with dignity, who can give as well as he gets from those closest to him. The jibes come mainly from his father, Bill (Orson Bean doing a great Archie Bunker impression), and Butch’s ex-wife, Elizabeth (Mo Gaffney). His main supporters are his slutty sister Pamela (Joely Fisher, “Ellen”) and his confused mother Joan (Anita Gillette).

Ironically, “Normal, Ohio” is the straightest of the sitcoms produced by Bonnie and Terry Turner, also responsible for “That ’70s Show” and “3rd Rock From the Sun.” Still, it’s an adventurous use of the sitcom form, akin to the longtime Fox staple “Married … with Children.” It’s earned a slight edge over the new CBS sitcom in the same time slot, “Welcome to New York.”

Following “Normal,” premiering at 9 tonight on Fox, is “The $treet,” a new primetime soap set on Wall Street.

“The $treet” is the second new series of the season for Darren Star (“Sex and the City,” “Melrose Place”). His WB comedy “Grosse Pointe” is a saucy little satire, but “The $treet” is a real downturn when compared to some of Star’s past over-the-top works.

The premiere introduces viewers to the power players at Balmont Stevens, as they get ready to take an Ivy League gene company public. The biggest problem is that it’s hard to keep straight all the dark-haired beauties in the show. Except for ethnic flavoring in the form of a loud-mouthed Jewish salesman and a streetwise secretary, Balmont Stevens is a fairly homogenous place.

Also, “The $treet” could just as well been set at a health club, for all the Wall Street action in the debut. It values salaciousness first, business second. TNT’s “Bull” is in the same vein, but it does a much better job of balancing the two parts.

“The $treet” is an OK alternative for those who find “The West Wing” too challenging. But most will find it too inconsequential to stick with.