Showtimes’ 'First Ladies' | Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gillian Anderson

[Pennywise]

Viola Davis will play Michelle Obama in prospective anthology series 'First Ladies'

EW has learned that the How to Get Away With Murder star has been cast as former First Lady Michelle Obama in Showtime’s prospective anthology series First Ladies. The drama is in development with a three-script commitment from the network; The Guns of Ridgewood novelist Aaron Cooley will write the scripts and serve as executive producer.

Executive produced by Davis, the series promises to peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives of our most enigmatic heroes, the women of the East Wing of the White House. In addition to Obama, the first season will also focus on Eleanor Roosevelt and Betty Ford; however, casting for those roles has yet to be announced.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Love Michelle and love Viola! The two of them don’t really look alike but I’ll let it slide because Viola can do anything (well, she couldn’t make Suicide Squad watchable, but that would have taken a miracle).

 

[Pennywise]

'First Ladies' Drama, With Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Ordered to Series at Showtime

Viola Davis is officially moving from Shondaland to the White House.

Showtime has handed out a series order to anthology First Ladies, with the How to Get Away With Murder star set to play Michelle Obama in the first season. The news arrives as Davis will officially say farewell to ABC's Shonda Rhimes-produced drama How to Get Away With Murder in the spring.
First Ladies was initially put into
edevelopment last August, marking a very quick turnaround process for the premium cable network that usually takes a slow and methodical approach to prepping potential series. The premium cable network initially ordered three scripts for the anthology before handing out its series pickup.

The anthology focuses on the personal and political lives of the country's most enigmatic heroes, with season one focused on Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama (Davis). (Additional casting details have not been announced.)

Author Aaron Cooley (Four Seats: A Thriller of the Supreme Court) created the series and will write and exec produce alongside Davis and her husband/JuVee Productions partner Julius Tennon, Oscar-winner Cathy Schulman and her Welle Entertainment banner (Crash), Jeff Gaspin (L.A.'s Finest) and Link Entertainment's Brad Kaplan (Mr. Church). The series is a co-production between Showtime and Lionsgate Television. A premiere date and episode count have not yet been determined.

 

[Pennywise]

Michelle Pfeiffer To Portray Betty Ford In ‘The First Lady’ Showtime Anthology Series – Deadline

 

[Dark Raven]

They should get Laura Benanti as Melania.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

What's this now? Pfeiffer's first regular TV gig since 1980? I'm in.

 

[Pennywise]

‘First Lady’: Pamela Adlon & Rhys Wakefield Join Showtime Anthology Series – Deadline

Adlon will play Nancy Howe, who was Betty Ford’s trusted confidante and social secretary. The two were inseparable through thick and thin, from facing Betty’s struggle with breast cancer to turning dusty White House traditions upside down.

Wakefield will play Dick Cheney, who served as Chief of Staff to President Gerald R. Ford. The youngest person in U.S. history to serve in that position, Cheney was charged with convincing the American people that Ford’s administration would be a departure from the stain left by Watergate

 

[Schlosser85]

Isn't Rhys Wakefield a little.....hot to play Dick Cheney at any age?

EDIT: though I guess a counterargument could just point to Christian Bale.

 

[Deck Rickard]

The real question is whether Rhys will go full Bale and gain the required 300 pounds for the role.

 

[Pennywise]

'The First Lady' at Showtime Adds Kristine Froseth, Jayme Lawson - Variety

 

[Schlosser85]

The real question is whether Rhys will go full Bale and gain the required 300 pounds for the role.

He's playing a young Cheney when he was Ford's chief of staff. Cheney wasn't big then.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Isn't Rhys Wakefield a little.....hot to play Dick Cheney at any age?

Yeah, I'm about to have some really, really weird fantasies now.

 

[Pennywise]

Aaron Eckhart to Play Gerald Ford in Showtime Series 'The First Lady' - Variety

 

[Pennywise]

Judy Greer To Replace Pamela Adlon In Showtime’s ‘The First Lady’ – Deadline

 

[Deck Rickard]

Always good to see Judy Greer getting work.

 

[Pennywise]

Gillian Anderson To Star As Eleanor Roosevelt In ‘The First Lady’ – Deadline

 

[Pennywise]

‘The First Lady’: O-T Fagbenle To Play Barack Obama In Showtime Series – Deadline

 

[Pennywise]

‘The First Lady’: Dakota Fanning To Play Susan Ford In Showtime Series – Deadline

 

[Schlosser85]

‘The First Lady’: O-T Fagbenle To Play Barack Obama In Showtime Series – Deadline

He looks nothing like Obama.

 

[Pennywise]

‘The First Lady’: Lexi Underwood To Play Malia Obama In Showtime Anthology Series – Deadline

 

[Pennywise]

Exclusive: 'House of Cards' Alum Derek Cecil to Play Donald Rumsfeld in 'The First Lady' on Showtime

 

[Pennywise]

‘The First Lady’: Aya Cash, Jake Picking, Among 8 Cast In Showtime Anthology – Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Showtime has rounded out the cast for its upcoming anthology series The First Lady. Aya Cash (The Boys), Jake Picking (Hollywood), Cayden Boyd (The Resident), Marc Hills (Snatchers), Ben Cook (Paterno), Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Bridge and Tunnel), Thomas E. Sullivan (Roswell, New Mexico) and Patrice Johnson Chevannes (Chambers) have been cast in the series, joining previously announced stars Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson.

Cash will play Esther Liebowitz, press secretary to Betty Ford, who often butts heads with Betty for suggesting more conservative strategies than Betty wants to embrace.

Picking will portray the young Jerry Ford, an ex-college football player just returned from the service, who meets Betty Ford in Michigan and marries her in 1948, just as he wins his first Congressional seat.

Boyd will portray Michael Ford, Jerry and Betty Ford’s oldest son.

Hills is Jack Ford, Jerry and Betty Ford’s second eldest son

Cook will play Steven Ford, Jerry and Betty Ford’s youngest son.

Kritzer will play Martha Graham, an American modern dancer and choreographer whose technique reshaped American dance. Graham instructed Betty as a young and hopeful dancer living in New York City in 1939.

Sullivan will play Bill Warren, Betty Ford’s first husband, a salesman she marries in 1942 and then divorces in 1947.

Chevannes will play Clara Powell, the Ford family’s longtime nanny and family friend, who remained one of Betty Ford’s closest confidants during her addiction treatment.

 

[Pennywise]

‘The First Lady’: Regina Taylor To Play Michelle Obama’s Mother In Showtime Anthology – Deadline

 

[Pennywise]

Gloria Reuben Joins ‘Firestarter’ & ‘The First Lady’ – Deadline

 

[Pennywise]

‘The First Lady’: Kate Mulgrew Joins Cast; Cathy Schulman Named Showrunner – Deadline