FX has done it again. Black. White., the network's new documentary series set to debut March 8 at 10 p.m. ET, is a brave, bold, singular accomplishment unlike anything else on television today, or in recent memory. Like so many other FX programs before it -- including The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me and 30 Days -- Black. White. doesn't simply expand its specific genre. It takes the medium to a place it hasn't been before and challenges television viewers to suspend traditional expectations of an established entertainment format. As with each installment of 30 Days -- a documentary program in which individuals live as people very different from themselves -- Black. White. also dares its audience to look beyond their own understanding of a significant social issue, in this case racism. The end result is endlessly fascinating.

Black. White., in fact, very much resembles an expanded edition of 30 Days. (Acclaimed documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler is the executive producer of both programs.) Seeking to illuminate the ongoing problem of race relations in this country by exploring the subject from two sides of the issue, this six-part series gets right into the thick of it by disguising the members of two families -- one Caucasian, one African American -- as men and women of each other's color. It is clear from the start that despite the potentially volatile subject matter on the table, this show is going to explore everyone's strengths, weaknesses and predilection to pass judgment with uncommon frankness. There is no direct preaching here. There is only the naked truth that comes from people being honest with one another and revealing who they are. As always, and as shown here, the truth can at times be ugly -- but it can also be a force of enlightenment and understanding. At the very least, the truths in Black. White. make the viewer think.

Using truly impressive makeup and hair artistry, the white Wurgel family of Santa Monica becomes black, the black Sparks family of Atlanta becomes white, and as they venture out into the world with their new looks, Black. White. becomes one of the most important programs of the year, if not the decade. Interestingly, the six participants seek honest responses from people by lying about their identities and capturing the reactions of the people they meet on film. But when the Wurgels and the Sparks are together in the house they share throughout this series, without the protective cover of false skin color, there is no lying. There is only truth telling and its sometimes-unexpected consequences.

One of the most admirable qualities about Black. White. is that the four adults involved -- Bruno Wurgel and his wife Carmen and Brian Sparks and his wife Renee -- are imperfect people who never lose their true flawed identities. (They bring to mind that old saying "Everyone is a little bit strange once you get to know them.") This keeps the show interesting, not simply as a social experiment, but as a study of individual human behavior. Bruno and Carmen are simply weird. "I look forward to having someone say, hey nigger, you son of a bitch," he says early on after being made up to look black. It may be the strangest moment in the show, at least until episode two, when Carmen, a fearful, overly sensitive soul, meets the members of daughter Rose's poetry group and bizarrely refers to one of them as a "magnificent black creature." Brian, meanwhile, carries a chip on his shoulder, but he's a pussycat next to wife Renee, who seizes on poor nervous Carmen's occasional questionable comments (made with no apparent negative intent) and holds epic grudges. As disparate as these four people are, though, it sometimes occurs to them in the middle of disagreements that they are all very much alike.

Even if one doesn't care for Mr. and Mrs. Wurgel and Mr. and Mrs. Sparks, in or out of makeup, one must give all four of them credit for raising two terrific kids, both teenagers participating in this show. Eighteen-year-old Rose Wurgel is a delight, eager to take part in this experiment and get to know people she might not otherwise meet. The underlying dishonesty of it all gets to her in episode two, when she chooses to reveal her true self to the friends she has made in her poetry group, none of whom knows she is white. Their reactions are powerful. Seventeen-year-old Nick Sparks candidly admits that he is involved with this experiment "just to pass" and "for the fun." He also casually notes with utter believability that people his age "don't see race" and that they "just react to each other as people." It's an uplifting moment, in part the result, one might conclude, of a generation or two of young people watching such shows as MTV's The Real World and Road Rules and other ethnically diverse series.

The difference between racially sensitive and/or racist adults and the young and open-minded is seen once again in episode two, when Bruno and Brian question a young white female bartender about her romantic history. When Bruno asks her if she has ever dated a black man she says she has, and that even though they are no longer together they are still friends. "He's awesome!" she smiles.

And then Bruno, who really should think more about what he says, asks her if she would consider marrying a black man, knowing that they are "notorious for not sticking around and taking care of their families." Brian's jaw hits the bar, and the young woman appears to be taken aback. Her former boyfriend, she replies, "wouldn't take off."

If Rose, Nick and the bartender represent the future of our society, Black. White. will be little more than a quaint cultural artifact 20 years from now. At present, it's an intriguing exercise in documentary filmmaking that will have people talking long after they watch. This is a television series that should make a difference.