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Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios, an independent producer and distributor of first-run syndicated TV programming, has sold its sitcoms The First Family and Mr. Box Office to Tribune, Weigel and CBS Television Station Groups as part of a two-hour primetime weekend comedy block. It has been cleared in more than 85% of the U.S. Entertainment Studios first shot pilots for the sitcoms, which are getting initial orders of 104 episodes each. They will run two half-hours each, back-to-back, to create a two-hour primetime block.
Related: Comedy Series Starring Bill Bellamy Eying 100-Episode Order, Fall Launch
The First Family is about an African-American family that resides in the White House. Its cast includes Christopher B. Duncan, Kellita Smith, Gladys Knight, Jackee Harry, John Witherspoon, Marla Gibbs, and Michael D. Roberts. Mr. Box Office is about one of the world’s biggest movie stars, who is sentenced to community service teaching English at an inner-city high school in South Central Los Angeles. It stars Bill Bellamy, Jon Lovitz, Vivica A. Fox, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Rick Fox, Gary Busey, Alex Thomas, Tony T. Roberts, and Tim Meadows. Allen said his decision to do first-run syndicated comedy series was driven by “the huge shortfall of quality family sitcoms” for broadcast stations. His model of accelerated production is similar to that introduced by Debmar-Mercury, which features a first window for its sitcoms on cable before they go to stations in syndication.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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Whether or not these shows are any good, they certainly have great casts.
True, I just might tune in.
The CW should pick these up to breathe a little life in to Sundays.
The Cw tried this a few years ago with a a show about Greek Gods stuck on earth and another one that I think was called Easy Money that had Laurie Metcalfe in it as the head of a family of loan sharks.
It didn’t work out so well.
What a formidable set of casts! I plan on tuning in to both series; especially “First Family”! That is a group of comedic legends! Way to go, Byron Allen!
Sounds like the contestants on celebrity apprentice.
Will any of the networks not have a show that takes place in the White House this season? HBO NBC now CBS, a short time ago it was vampires and zombies, now it’s those wacky people who live and/or work in the White House.
I cannot wait. Great Cast-Members. We need more comedy family sitcoms. I’m too excited so many of my favorite actresses and actors back to back, wow!
I give Allen all the credit in the world for airing or attempting to air family-friendly programming but he’s going in almost the same route as the old PAX network did many years ago and it ended up getting re-branded due to a lack of interest. And then to air over 100 episodes of shows that haven’t really proven themselves yet is a very risky venture and Allen has way too many entertainment shows on as it is. Byron, seriously, calm down here.
The shows will be made on the cheap and will have enough episodes for syndication to play for years. Because the shows have well known cast members, viewers will come for at least nostalgia. The reality is that there is a dearth of family friendly shows. Where on network TV can you find any programs like the old the ABC TGIF family shows? How many people grew up with Blossom or the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or even the Jeffersons? A lot.
Come on. Look at ABC, NBC, Fox, and even the CW. Other than ABC’s the Middle, what family comedy is out there? Modern Family plays to a teen & adult audience. So, First Family has potential.
Mr. Box Office is the more questionable program.
However, look at the minuscule ratings that the CW gets. Most of its programs get 1 to 2 million viewers. What were ratings like for the WBs’ like Girlfriends or the Game? If the Game gets 5 million viewers on cable, what if Mr. Box Office gets half that number?
Thank you Hollywood for creating a new sub-category for your black colleagues. Now all black shows get sold into this digital ghetto where they have to spew out twice the number of shows in half the time and when they suck, you get make them a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I’m looking forward to both of these shows. Byron Allen is taking a major risk but I think he’s able to do that because of the casts attached to them. Look at Mr Box Office Bill Bellamy, Vivica Fox, Jon Lovitz, Gary Busey, Tim Meadows, ?! WOW! Can’t wait to see this on the little screen!
What does this mean for those not in know?
“Tribune, Weigel and CBS Television Station Groups”
Is this not a way of saying he couldn’t get the shows on network or BET or TBS where the shows would work, or are those part of that?
People like stars from the past of late but damn those pilots must have been incredible to do 100 episode deals already?!
Cannot wait to see Chistopher B. Duncan and company in First Family!! It’s sooo time for a show like this again (and I mean a political/White House comedy). He is brilliant and the cast looks great!
“Black Entertainment” please please please stop churning out this drivel and labeling it as “black”…i know many of the people involved (Christopher is a peer and great guy), so I’m happy that income is being generated, however, the more Byron Allen exploits black american families by labeling this “black programing” and taping this type of “fast food for television” on the rapid fire schedule on which this business model is based, the more money Byron Allen makes, the more black entertainment is stigmatized, the less black actors work in Hollywood on quality television. I hear that BA is a nice guy, I met him once at a pool party he threw years ago somewhere deep in the hollywood hills…God bless him and anyone like him who can make money….but at the end of the day, please stop using our race to lend credibility or purpose to what is really going on…crap programming, crap art, crap story telling, crap character development, crap, crap, crap…
I wish him the best with both projects, and I’m all for family-friendly programming, “TGIF” style. But please, do not make it into the cookie-cutter sitcoms produced by blacks (House of Payne, Meet the Browns, Love That Girl). They all have fans, but to me, they also suffer from lousy writing and generic plots. It’s possible to be family-friendly and well-produced at the same time.
Thankyou for giving me a reason to enjoy my saturday evenings once again on cw network.Im homeward bound and have no cable, so this new lineup puts a smile on my face.Thankyou .
I agree this is a cast og heavyweights. With the love of Barack, Michelle, Maliam & Natasha Obama this show could be a hit. But NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT. Where are the advertisements? No banner ads, bus ads, tv spots, newspaper/magazine ads NOTHING. Ads need to be run on disney, nick, and BET so this show gets support. I know that Cw has a low threshold for ratings success) to the CW getting 1mill viewers is a success) but I’d really love for these shows to do well.
I also agree with BGVA that these shows BETTER NOT have the stereotypical bullsh*t that was on House Of Payne, Meet The Browns, and Love That Girl.
Byron and the other black comedian are both dumbasses for their comments on over weight kids.I only saw 45 seconds of his show,some people will try to belittle others because of their on insecurities.
I watched the show once and that was enough, this show seems like something from 15 years ago on the WB. It was like watching a play and it was way too predictable. How many sassy sister in laws, sassy servants and cranky mother in laws, and George Jefferson Florence, Mary and Sandra relationships are we gonna see and still laugh at it. The show is just plain silly to me.
I’m glad that there are black shows on TV again, but this show along with Mr. Box Office they are nothing like the old black sitcoms not any of the other black shows that are on today (with the exception of House of Payne, Meet the Browns, and Are We There Yet? that don’t have that feeling.
BET as The Game, Lets Stay Together, Reed between the Lines, and, Soul Man with Centric and Nicey Nash: new one called Mary Jane starring Gabrielle Union this coming 2013. TVone- That’s my Girl and Ricky Smiley Show. TBS, Meet the Browns, Better for Worse, and House of Payne this is it’s last season. VHI has Single Ladies. Entertainment Studios, The First Family and Mr. Box Office. These shows provide a platform for African American actor/actress to get some type of exposure for the career that they are passoniate about. Last but not least its a paycheck. It may not pay like ABC,NBC,CBS, Fox or the other cable networks.
Was looking forward to at least a somewhat”Cosby like” quality program. Instead we get “Tyler Perry like” buffoonery. I feel for the actors who need a paycheck and have to play these roles!