While the photos might’ve indicated that former US President Barack Obama was enjoying his retirement from politics by water skiing and helping send his daughter off to college, he and former First Lady Michelle Obama have actually been hard at work creating a production studio called Higher Ground Productions.
Turns out they'll need it as the Obamas, through Higher Ground Productions, have signed a multiyear agreement with Netflix to produce films and series for the streaming service, potentially including scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features.
So what can you expect from the pairing?
As much as we’d love to see an Barack Obama Marvel series spin-off or a Michelle Obama stand-up comedy special, the two are focusing on creating content that will “Cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples,” according to Obama.
Michelle Obama adds, “Barack and I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others.”
We'll take streaming TV over a biography any day
Netflix has yet to specify which content will be the first to production from the fledgling production studio, but the deal in and of itself is relatively newsworthy as Obama is the first US President to work with a streaming service, proving how ubiquitous streaming has become in our lives and our culture.
As Engadget points out, it's more common for former presidents to team up with authors to create biographies of their lives and time in office - this partnership with Netflix is a first of its kind in the way it allows a former US President (and the former First Lady) to be the guiding force on a series.
That said, it's not Obama's first time on a streaming service.
Previously, Obama has appeared on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman as well as an episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld (Netflix and Crackle originals, respectively) while Michelle Obama has made an appearances on dozens of talk shows and specials.
Source: Netflix
- Looking for something to stream? These are the best shows on Netflix
