Obama's speechwriter gets sitcom job

The show is titled '1600 Penn' - named after the presidential address.

LONDON: A former speechwriter of US president Barack Obama has got a new job - to write a sitcom about family life in the White House.

American television network NBC has commissioned Jon Lovett for the show, titled 1600 Penn - named after the presidential address, BBC reported.

Bill Pullman stars as the US president, with Jenna Elfman as the first lady.

NBC has initially ordered 13 episodes of the show. It is the second time Pullman has portrayed the US president, after playing the role in 1996 blockbuster Independence Day.

Josh Gad will star as the president's ‘out-of-control’ eldest son.

Lovett, who is also the executive producer, spent three years as Obama's speechwriter in Washington before leaving in September to pursue a career in Hollywood.

Lovett told The Hollywood Reporter the comedy would not be based on real stories from the White House.

"Obviously, my experiences are going to inform what I do, but this family will have absolutely nothing to do with the president. The idea is that this is a dysfunctional family, and the first family today is so far from that, it's ridiculous," he said.