Well how do you like that? An American bald eagle just swooped down from the sky and landed outside my office window. After a frightful staring contest, the eagle opened its mighty beak and informed me that Viola Davis is set to portray Michelle Obama in FIRST LADIES, a one-hour White House drama that is being fast-tracked at Showtime.
Davis will executive produce the series, as will writer Aaron Cooley (novels Four Seats: A Thriller of the Supreme Court, The Guns of Ridgewood), who has signed on to pen the three-script order. Also in line to executive produce are Julius Tennon of JuVee Productions. Cathy Schulman of Welle Entertainment, Jeff Gaspin of Gaspin Media, and Brad Kaplan of LINK Entertainment.
In terms of content, Deadline is reporting that FIRST LADIES is set in the East Wing of the White House, where 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 series will peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives of our most enigmatic heroes, with Season 1 focusing on Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama.
Davis' turn as the former First Lady will mark her first starring TV role after HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER's wraps its next and final season. Meanwhile, the multi-award-winning actress is poised to star alongside BLACK PANTHER star Chadwick Boseman in Netflix's adaptation of the August Wilson play "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and is set to reprise her role as Amanda Waller for director James Gunn's THE SUICIDE SQUAD.
Wow! It's not every day that you get play the ringleader of DC's "worst of the worst" then star as one of America's best. In my personal opinion, Davis is a legend in the making, so it only makes sense that she be chosen to play one of the most influential First Ladies of modern times. I've no doubt that she'll do the role justice, and I can't wait to see her knock it out of the park.