Barack & Michelle Obama Reveal Shows/Films In The Works Through Multi-Million Netflix Deal

Barack & Michelle Obama Reveal Shows/Films In The Works Through  Multi-Million Netflix Deal

Barack and Michelle Obama are continuing to prove that just because you leave the White House, it doesn’t mean you have to stop trying to impact change—even if it’s through the lens of entertainment. The powerful couple just revealed the upcoming slate of programming through their multi-million deal with streaming powerhouse Netflix.

Last year, it was announced that the Obamas had struck a multi-year, multi-million deal with Netflix to produce several shows and films that will be available to customers of the streaming service.

Now, those projects (seven in total) have officially been announced via Barack and Michelle’s new production company, Higher Ground Productions. However, one topic will be off limits within the projects—and it happens to be politics. The Obamas are firm in their decision not to produce any programming that would attack the current presidential administration or influence the upcoming 2020 election.

In a statement about the new programming on Netflix, Barack Obama stated:

“Touching on issues of race and class, democracy and civil rights and much more, we believe each of these productions won’t just entertain, but will educate, connect and inspire us all.”

Here are the seven programs currently in development through the Obamas Netflix deal:

American Factory, a documentary that examines life in Ohio where a Chinese billionaire opened a factory in a former General Motors plant and hired 2,000 people. Higher Ground Productions described the film, produced by Participant Media and directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, as “early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.” The documentary was already shown at the Sundance Film Festival, and Higher Ground Productions said it would be its first release.

Bloom, a drama series set in post-World War II New York that will explore the “barriers faced by women and by people of color in an era marked by hurdles but also tremendous progress.” It will be produced by Callie Khouri, who wrote Thelma & Louise.

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, a film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography by David W. Blight about Frederick Douglass. Higher Ground did not announce a screenwriter or any producers.

Overlooked, an adaptation of the New York Times series about people whose deaths were previously not reported by the newspaper. The obituaries have been published in a recurring feature in the paper. Higher Ground Productions said it would be a scripted anthology series.

The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy, a series based on the book by Michael Lewis.

Crip Camp, a documentary film about the origins of the disability rights movement.

Listen To Your Vegetables & Eat Your Parents, a half-hour series for preschoolers that will “take young children and their families around the globe on an adventure that tells us the story of our food.”

What are your thoughts about the Obamas Netflix programming? Let us know in the comments!