Barack Obama brought change to Washington. Now, can he bring change to our television sets?

The new president and his family have barely settled into their new digs, but that question is already being pondered by members of the entertainment community. They cling to the hope that an "Obama effect" eventually will lead to richer and more varied depictions of black Americans on the small screen and more opportunities in front of, and behind, the camera.

"The fact that we now have people who we traditionally haven't seen in these kinds of roles should open Hollywood's minds to all kinds of possibilities," says comedian D.L. Hughley. "Hopefully we'll see a case of art imitating life."

This fall, even as Obama was becoming the biggest TV star on the planet, the out-of-step broadcasters unveiled a roster of new shows stocked with casts that were alarmingly pale. The drop-off came after a period in which the networks seemed to be making a move toward more diversity - a move spurred by harsh public criticism in 1999 by the NAACP.

"I was shocked to see that not a single pilot had an African-American family or protagonist," says Elvis Mitchell, a pop-culture critic and film producer. "It just seemed obvious. Why not? It's what everybody was talking about. On the other hand, there was no shortage of shows about the travails of rich white kids."

In 1997, the broadcast networks offered 15 black comedies, albeit mostly on the now-defunct WB and UPN, which relied on the genre to carve out an audience. Today, that number is down to two: "Everybody Hates Chris" and "The Game." They air on the smallest network - The CW - where they have been banished to the dead zone known as Friday nights. In addition, basic-cable station TBS offers a pair of black sitcoms - "House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns," both from Tyler Perry.

When it comes to black dramas, television's track record is even more abysmal. The most recent predominantly black network drama was Steven Bochco's short-lived "City of Angels," which aired on CBS in 2000. These days, the only black actors who headline network dramas are Dennis Haysbert on "The Unit" and Laurence Fishburne, who just took over "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Both shows air on CBS.

Mara Brock Akil, the creator and executive producer of "The Game" and the recently departed "Girlfriends," deplores the trend.

"I have a theory: Everyone wants to see themselves in storytelling, whether it be TV, stage, movies or books," she says. "It's like a validation of their humanity. And black people really haven't had that on television - at a high-profile level - since 'The Cosby Show.'"

"The Cosby Show," starring Bill Cosby as pediatrician Cliff Huxtable, aired on NBC from 1984 to 1992 and can still be seen in syndication. One of the most popular programs in television history, it was a warmhearted sitcom - free of street conflicts and ghetto stereotypes - that broke ground for its depiction of an upwardly mobile black family. In the weeks following Obama's election, the "Huxtable effect" was cited by some as a factor in his victory.

Some believe the countless images of Obama along with wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha will make a difference in future programming.

"You would like to think that will make a difference," says Bishop T.D. Jakes, a prominent pastor, writer and film producer ("Not Easily Broken"). "I think sometimes the only images we see of people of color are the images that Hollywood projects: the hip-hop, the gangs, the street life. Now, it would be wonderful for them to recognize what has always existed in the African-American community and what Obama's presidency suggests: middle-class African-Americans who are articulate, intelligent and thoughtful."