Davis will be Michelle Obama, Pfeiffer will star as Betty Ford, while Anderson will be Eleanor Roosevelt
Showtime has released the first looks for their upcoming White House drama called The First Lady. The show will explore the lives of three of our most memorable former first ladies as they lived in the White House. The series comes from showrunner Cathy Schulman, the woman behind Crash, and director Susanne Bier from The Undoing fame. Check out the first look images of Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson as first ladies Michelle Obama, Betty Ford, and Eleanor Roosevelt from The First Lady.
Davis as Michelle
We are not aware if Showtime will order more seasons for The First Lady, but the first season will discuss the personal and political lives of Obama, Ford, and Roosevelt and will trace “their journeys to Washington through an enlightening intimacy,” according to the network.
Oscar and Emmy-winner Viola Davis stars as Michelle and will also be an executive producer on the show. Before she signed on the role, she had read Michelle’s memoir, where she detailed the eight years she spent at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Davis stated that she felt very protective of Michelle. She had to study her 2020 Netflix documentary to learn her gestures. Davis added that actors are not supposed to judge the people they’re portraying, but she ended up thinking that Michelle was ‘dope.’
Pfeiffer as Ford
Perhaps the most challenging part to play out of all three since Betty’s life had been out of control due to her dependency. Pfeiffer plays Betty alongside Dakota Fanning as her daughter Susan Ford and Aaron Eckhart as President Gerald Ford. Schulman greatly praised Pfeiffer for her beautiful, brittle, vulnerable, and strong performance.
Anderson as Roosevelt
The ever-busy Gillian Anderson shows no signs of stopping as she steps on to the role of Eleanor Roosevelt for The First Lady. Unlike the others, Anderson didn’t have time to prepare for the role since she had just got off from playing the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher in The Crown. She will star opposite Keifer Sutherland who plays President Franklin D. Roosevelt. We will see her beautiful friendship with reporter Lorena Hickok in her story arc.
The release date for Showtime’s The First Lady will be announced soon.
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