Viola Davis to Play Michelle Obama in TV Drama 'First Ladies'

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published 27 August 2019

Well, this is exciting! A new drama about the first ladies of the U.S. is in development at Showtime, and Michelle Obama will be played by one Viola Davis—who's also executive producing the show. According to Deadline, Showtime has committed to three hour-long episodes of the show, with Eleanor Roosevelt and Betty Ford also depicted in the first season. Consider me fully signed up!

JuVee Productions, Viola's production company with husband Julius Tennon, will, well, produce First Ladies, while novelist Aaron Cooley will write. The show will be set in the White House's East Wing, where, according to Deadline, "many of history’s most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic first ladies." The show will "peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives of our most enigmatic heroes," Deadline reports.

Oh, and allow me to just repeat it again: Viola Davis is playing Michelle Obama. She's pretty thrilled about starring in and executive producing the show, writing on Twitter alongside a screenshot of the news, "Proud to spotlight these brave, extraordinary women!"

Since she's executive producing a TV show about her, it probably goes without saying that Viola's a pretty big fan of Michelle (TBH, who among us is not?) But just in case you're not aware, allow me to direct your attention to the Instagram post above, a sweet birthday tribute from Viola earlier this year. "Happy birthday to the Queen! My sis! My image of grace, beauty and intelligence!! All hail!!" she wrote. Any chance we can get the release of First Ladies on Michelle's birthday in 2020?

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Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.