Centric To Premiere 'Steve Harvey Project'

Centric will premiere tonight (Nov. 15) a daily comedy/sketch series based on comedian Steve Harvey's popular morning radio show.

The series, The Steve Harvey Project, will showcase highlights of the daily four-hour Steve Harvey Morning Show in a nightly, one-hour block at 9 p.m., said Centric general manger Paxton Baker.

The series will feature performances from guest music artists -R&B artist Ne-Yo will appear on the inaugural show - as well as comedic skits performed by Harvey and his radio team, including comedians Nephew Tommy, Shirley Strawberry and Carla Ferrell.

Baker said the network will film the full morning show and edit the footage for air later that evening. "Steve has spend the last five year perfecting his radio show," he said. "He now adds a television component to it to allow people to visually take in what they have been hearing for years."

For Centric, the show provides the one-year old network an opportunity to cross-promote its service on the radio as well as via Harvey's website. It also provides the network with a daily series around which it can build its prime time block around.

"This is our first real daily, original series and we're excited about the potential [audience] for the series," Baker said, although he would not reveal a specific audience average for the series.

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.