How to watch The First Lady online from anywhere – Viola Davis stars as Michelle Obama

Starring Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford, and Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, The First Lady venerates three of the most high-profile women to occupy the White House's East Wing, and shines a light on the goings-on behind those picture-perfect facades. The First Lady is on Showtime in the States but make sure you know how to watch this show online from anywhere.

The 10-part drama marries fact with fiction to explore how privilege and influence can be harnessed to great effect with skill and will.

Eleanor Roosevelt redefined the role, taking a public stand against her husband when she disagreed with his policies, most notably in the case of civil rights, and becoming the de facto President when the opportunity arose. 

Betty Ford blazed her own trail, fighting for equal rights and raising awareness of the then-taboo subject of breast cancer, while openly battling her own demons.

The show also touches upon how public expectations of the role have declined, Michelle Obama having been largely constrained to championing 'safer' causes, such as education, healthy living and military families, as her husband was deified as the US' first African-American President.

Keep reading to find out how to watch The First Lady online from anywhere.

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How to watch The First Lady FREE online in the US

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This 10-part docu-drama premieres on Showtime on Sunday, April 17 at 9pm ET/PT, with new episodes airing weekly in the same slot.

If you don't have Showtime on cable, you can stream The First Lady on Showtime Now.

Best of all, there's a 30-day FREE trial of Showtime Now (opens in new tab) available to new users, after which a subscription costs $10.99 a month, but you can cancel whenever you want to.

OTT streaming services Sling TV (opens in new tab), Hulu, and Fubo TV (opens in new tab) can provide access to the series, but you'll need to purchase the $10.99 per month Showtime addon on top of the subscription fee for whichever cord-cutting service you decide to use.

All of these streaming services are compatible with a whole host of devices, including iOS and Android devices, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox, and many more, so you can watch on whatever is convenient to you.

Watch The First Lady online from anywhere

If you're abroad when The First Lady airs, geo-restrictions will block you from watching on your usual streaming service.

Luckily, there’s a simple solution. By downloading and installing a VPN to your device, you can trick it into thinking it's in another country. So you can set your location to your home country and dodge those geo-restrictions to access your usual streaming service without a problem.

Use a VPN to watch The First Lady from anywhere

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How to watch The First Lady online in Canada

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Viewers in Canada can watch The First Lady online via Crave (opens in new tab), Canada’s premium streaming platform. The first episode drops on Sunday, April 17, with new episodes arriving at the same time each week.

You can sign up for a 7-day FREE trial (opens in new tab) to try out the streaming service before committing to either the CA$9.99 Crave Mobile plan (one stream through a web or mobile app) or the monthly $19.99 for Crave Total, which allows up to 4 streams on a maximum of 5 devices. Alternatively, sign up through your TV provider and find the best deal that way.

Don't forget you can use a VPN (opens in new tab) if you're out of the country and want to watch the latest episode of the show.

How to watch The First Lady for FREE in Australia

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Paramount Plus (opens in new tab) is the place to watch The First Lady in Australia, with episodes landing on the streaming service on Mondays, starting April 18.

A subscription starts at $8.99 per month after a 7-day FREE trial (opens in new tab).

As detailed above, if you’re abroad you’ll struggle to connect to any of the streaming services you usually use. The solution? Try using a VPN (opens in new tab) as per our guide above.

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Can I watch The First Lady in the UK?

There's no word yet on when The First Lady will air in the UK. 

Paramount has the international rights to the series, and its streaming service Paramount Plus is set to hit the UK in 2022 via Sky platforms. All parties have so far kept the specific details of the launch under wraps.

Your only saving grace is if you're a Showtime Now, Crave or Paramount Plus Australia subscriber currently visiting the UK. If that's the case, you can use a VPN (opens in new tab) to tap into a stream of The First Lady.