Entertainment Studios to Produce Family-Themed Sitcom

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Entertainment Studios, Inc. has ordered 104 episodes of a new scripted series about an African-American family residing in the White House.

The Byron Allen-owned Entertainment Studios will launch The First Family this fall, although its unclear whether the series will air on one or more of Entertainment Studios' seven HD channels.

The series features an all-star cast including Christopher B. Duncan (The Jamie Foxx Show) Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show), R&B singer Gladys Knight, Jackee Harry (227), John Witherspoon (The Wayans Brothers), Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons, 227) and comedian Paul Rodriguez.

"There's a huge shortfall of quality family sitcoms, and we are 110 percent committed to filling that enormous void," said Byron Allen, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Entertainment Studios. "Our number one priority is to deliver the highest quality content in the sitcom genre, and this initial 104-episode order is a big step in the right direction."

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.