Viola Davis plays Michelle Obama in ‘First Ladies’

Sometimes a casting director just nails it. Showtime has ordered a full season for the scripted series First Ladies, featuring Viola Davis as Michelle Obama.  The anthology-style political drama will look at the personal stories of various first ladies from throughout US history; Season 1 will spotlight Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Betty Ford. The series originated with a spec script by Aaron Cooley, focused on the life of Lady Bird Johnson

According to Deadline producer Cathy Schulman suggested the project be expanded to incorporate more first ladies. Reel 360 can’t wait to see a Season two featuring Melania Trump. Hoo-wee.

“Throughout our history, presidents’ spouses have wielded remarkable influence, not only on the nation’s leaders but on the country itself.” said Jana Winograde, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks.First Ladies fits perfectly within the Showtime wheelhouse of drama and politics, revealing how much personal relationships impact both domestic and global events. Having Viola Davis play Michelle Obama is a dream come true, and we couldn’t be luckier to have her extraordinary talent to help launch this series.”

ALSO READ: HBO renews ‘Avenue 5’ for second season

The source material for First Ladies will be mined from public domain files. Davis will also executive produce the series along with Cooley and Tennon via their JuVee Productions, Schulman via Welle Entertainment, Gaspin via Gaspin Media and Kaplan via LINK Entertainment.

Davis earned Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG awards for her lead role in How To Get Away With Murder, which is wrapping up its sixth and final season on ABC. She is currently filming The Suicide Squad with James Gunn helming.

Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, recently won an Oscar for the Netflix documentary, American Factory.

SOURCE: Deadline

Sometimes a casting director just nails it. Showtime has ordered a full season for the scripted series First Ladies, featuring Viola Davis as Michelle Obama.  The anthology-style political drama will look at the personal stories of various first ladies from throughout US history; Season 1 will spotlight Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Betty Ford. The series originated with a spec script by Aaron Cooley, focused on the life of Lady Bird Johnson

According to Deadline producer Cathy Schulman suggested the project be expanded to incorporate more first ladies. Reel 360 can’t wait to see a Season two featuring Melania Trump. Hoo-wee.

“Throughout our history, presidents’ spouses have wielded remarkable influence, not only on the nation’s leaders but on the country itself.” said Jana Winograde, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks.First Ladies fits perfectly within the Showtime wheelhouse of drama and politics, revealing how much personal relationships impact both domestic and global events. Having Viola Davis play Michelle Obama is a dream come true, and we couldn’t be luckier to have her extraordinary talent to help launch this series.”

ALSO READ: HBO renews ‘Avenue 5’ for second season

The source material for First Ladies will be mined from public domain files. Davis will also executive produce the series along with Cooley and Tennon via their JuVee Productions, Schulman via Welle Entertainment, Gaspin via Gaspin Media and Kaplan via LINK Entertainment.

Davis earned Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG awards for her lead role in How To Get Away With Murder, which is wrapping up its sixth and final season on ABC. She is currently filming The Suicide Squad with James Gunn helming.

Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, recently won an Oscar for the Netflix documentary, American Factory.

SOURCE: Deadline