Barack & Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Leaving Netflix After 8 Years – Going Independent, Expanding To Multiple Studios

Barack & Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Leaving Netflix After 8 Years – Going Independent, Expanding To Multiple Studios

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are making a major business shift.

The couple’s production company, Higher Ground Productions, is set to go independent after nearly eight years with Netflix. According to sources, the move will happen once their current first-look deal with the streamer expires later this year.

Barack Obama confirmed the transition while speaking at the History Channel’s HistoryTalks event in Philadelphia, explaining the company’s evolving direction. “And we were in partnership with Netflix,” he said. “We’re in a process now of transitioning to a more independent [future] where we can work with a bunch of different studios.”

Even as they prepare to go independent, Higher Ground isn’t completely cutting ties. Sources say the Netflix deal has not ended yet, and the company plans to continue collaborating with the platform on existing projects.

Since launching in 2018 with an exclusive overall deal at Netflix — later shifting to a first-look agreement in 2024 — Higher Ground has built an extensive slate across film, television, and documentaries. Their projects include Oscar-winning documentary American Factory and the film Rustin, which earned Colman Domingo an Academy Award nomination.

Looking ahead, the company has already been expanding beyond Netflix, setting up projects across multiple studios including HBO, Apple, Amazon, FX, Disney, and more. Obama emphasized the broader mission behind the move, noting the goal has always been to tell stories that reflect “a set of values and ethical norms” at the core of the country’s identity.