''The First Family'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

that debuted in first-run

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

in the United States on September 22, 2012. Created by

Byron Allen Byron Allen Folks (born April 22, 1961) is the founder of the U.S. entertainment company Entertainment Studios which includes The Weather Channel. He is also a television producer, philanthropist, and comedian in his younger years. Notable sh ...

and produced by Allen's production company

Entertainment Studios Entertainment Studios, Inc., also known as Allen Media Group, is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and d ...

, the series (along with ''

Mr. Box Office ''Mr. Box Office'' is an American sitcom that debuted in first-run syndication in the United States on September 22, 2012. The show was created by Byron Allen and produced by his production company Entertainment Studios. Plot The series centers ...

'' which debuted the same weekend and is also produced by Entertainment Studios) is the first situation comedy to air in first-run syndication since the 2000 cancellation of ''

Malibu, CA Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malibu ...

''.

Premise

The series centers on William Johnson (

Christopher B. Duncan Christopher B. Duncan (born December 4, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his television series regular roles like Braxton P. Hartnabrig on ''The Jamie Foxx Show'', President William Johnson in ''The First Family (TV series), The First ...

), a politician who attempts to balance his family life with his wife Katherine (

Kellita Smith Kellita Smith (born January 15, 1969) is an American actress, model and comedian. She is best known for her role as Wanda McCullough, Bernie Mac's wife on the FOX sitcom ''The Bernie Mac Show''. Life and career Born in Chicago, Illinois, She ...

) and their two sons and two daughters as they adjust to living in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, while maintaining his duties as the second

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

and 45th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. William, in turn, also has to deal with other family members, including his father Alvin (

John Witherspoon John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense reali ...

) and his boisterous sister-in-law Pauletta (

Jackée Harry Jacqueline Yvonne Harry (born August 14, 1956) is an American actress, comedian, and television personality. She is known for her starring roles as Sandra Clark, the nemesis of Mary Jenkins (played by Marla Gibbs), on the NBC TV series '' 227'' ...

), who despite their constant bickering will sometimes partner up for various schemes.

Cast

Main cast

– President William Johnson *

– Katherine Johnson *

– Pauletta Birdsong *

Michael D. Roberts Michael D. Roberts is an American actor. Career Roberts played the role of "Rooster" in the 1970s television series ''Baretta''. Roberts starred in the short-lived 1983 television series ''Manimal'', appearing in five of the eight episodes whic ...

– Bernard *

Khylin Rhambo Khylin Rhambo (born January 8, 1996) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Charles Johnson on the television sitcom '' The First Family'' and as Mason Hewitt on MTV's show ''Teen Wolf''. Early life Rhambo started out his care ...

– Charles Johnson *

Yara Shahidi Yara Sayeh Shahidi (born February 10, 2000) is an American actress and model. She gained recognition for her starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson on the sitcom ''Black-ish'' (2014–2022) and its spin-off series ''Grown-ish'' (2018 ...

(episodes 1–23) – Chloe Johnson * Sayeed Shahidi (episodes 1–23) – Lucas Johnson * Layla Crawford – Olivia Johnson *

– Alvin Johnson

Recurring cast

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Kn ...

– Carolyn Johnson *

Marla Gibbs Marla Gibbs (born Margaret Theresa Bradley; June 14, 1931) is an American actress, singer, comedian, writer and television producer, whose career spans six decades. Gibbs is known for her role as George Jefferson's maid, Florence Johnston, in th ...

– Grandma Eddy *

Lee Reherman Lee Reherman (July 4, 1966 – March 1, 2016) was an American actor, appearing in television and film and hosting television reality shows. Early life Reherman was born on July 4, 1966, in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended Cornell University, ...

– Agent Hardison * John Eric Bentley – Agent Hill

Episodes

Production

''The First Family'' is primarily syndicated to

stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

affiliated with

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

and to independent stations for broadcast in weekend primetime timeslots. The series was supposed to produce a total of 104 episodes, borrowing a similarly-formatted episode order as several sitcoms produced and distributed by

Debmar-Mercury Debmar-Mercury is a television syndication company. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Lionsgate, it was formed from a merger of Debmar Studios and Mercury Entertainment in 2006. History Debmar Studios Debmar-Mercury's history begins on October 31, ...

, such as ''

Tyler Perry's House of Payne ''House of Payne'' is an American sitcom television series created and produced by Tyler Perry that premiered in syndication on June 21, 2006. The series revolves around a multi-generational family living under one roof in Atlanta led by patriarc ...

'' and ''

Anger Management Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...

'' (although the aforementioned Debmar-Mercury produced programs operated under a syndication model where the programs were sold to cable networks with an initial ten-episode order and obtained an additional order of at least 90 episodes if the series was successful). The series, which was sold as part of a two-hour comedy block with ''Mr. Box Office'', was initially picked up by stations owned by

Tribune Broadcasting Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC was an American media company which operated as a subsidiary of Tribune Media, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. The group owned and operated television and radio stations throughout the United Sta ...

Weigel Broadcasting Weigel Broadcasting Co. is an American television broadcasting company based in Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV (Channel 26), at 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood. It currently owns 25 television sta ...

and

CBS Television Stations CBS News and Stations (formerly CBS Television Stations) is a division of the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global that owns and operates a group of American television stations. , Paramount owns 28 stations, broken down as follows: ...

. By May 2012, the program had been sold to stations in markets covering approximately 85% of the United States. Although the series centers around an

president and his family, show creator and executive producer Byron Allen denies that former U.S. president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and his family served as the basis for the Johnson family in the series, noting major differences between the show's fictional Johnson family and the real-life Obama family: the William Johnson character is written as being the 45th president (thus, in this

fictional universe A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...

, Johnson is Obama's successor, as Obama is the 44th president), the Johnsons moved to Washington from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

(the Obama family resided in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

prior to the presidency), the family in the series has four children (two male and two female, whereas Barack and

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

have only two children, both female) and that the family's dog is a

Golden Retriever The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds ...

(as opposed to a

Portuguese Water Dog The Portuguese Water Dog originated from the Algarve region of Portugal. From there the breed expanded to all around Portugal's coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen's nets, retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and act as ...

Syndication

On April 4, 2013, Centric acquired the

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

syndication rights to all past and future episodes of ''The First Family'', along with ''

'', with both series began airing on the channel on April 19, 2013.BET Networks Acquires Sitcoms 'The First Family' and 'Mr. Box Office'; Series to Air on Centric
''TV by the Numbers'', April 4, 2013.

Accolades

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:First Family 2010s American black sitcoms 2012 American television series debuts 2015 American television series endings 2010s American political comedy television series Television shows set in Washington, D.C. First-run syndicated television programs in the United States English-language television shows Television series about families Television series by Entertainment Studios White House in fiction