A retrospective on American leadership told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House
In the eastern wing of the US government, many of history’s most significant and world-changing decisions were made by America’s charismatic, complex, and dynamic first ladies.
The anthology drama The First Lady from Showtime will lift the veil on the personal and political lives of three unique and enigmatic women and their families, tracing their journeys in Washington, delving into their pasts and following them beyond the White House in their greatest moments:
“Through storylines so intimate it feels like the walls of the White House are talking, the first season focuses on the enlightening lives of Michelle Obama, Betty Ford and Eleanor Roosevelt.”
A trailer for The First Lady
The First Lady will air on April 17. The cast includes Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) as former first lady Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit) as Betty Ford, Gillian Anderson (The Crown) as Eleanor Roosevelt, Kiefer Sutherland (Designated Survivor) as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Aaron Eckhart (Wander) as President Gerald Ford, Dakota Fanning (The Alienist) as Susan Elizabeth Ford, Regina Taylor (I ‘ll Fly Away) as Michelle Robinson, Obama’s mother, Marian Shields Robinson, Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) as Lorena “Hick” Hickok, Jayme Lawson (The Batman) as the young Michelle Obama, OT Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale) as President Barack Obama, Judy Greer (Kidding) as Nancy Howe, Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) as Sara Delano Roosevelt, Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children) as Louis McHenry Howe, Maria Dizzia (Orange Is The New Black) as Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd and Kate Mulgrew (The Man Who Fell to Earth) as Susan Sher.
Produced by Lionsgate Television, the ten-episode television series, created by Aaron Cooley, is produced by Cathy Schulman (Crash), who also serves as showrunner, and Susanne Bier (The Undoing), who produces and directs the entire first season. Viola Davis, Julius Tennon and Andrew Wang of JuVee Productions are executive producers alongside Aaron Cooley, Pavlina Hatoupis, Alyson Feltes, Jeff Gaspin via Gaspin Media and Brad Kaplan via Link Entertainment.