The Obamas Reveal What They're Working On At Netflix

Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama signed a major production deal with the streaming giant last year.
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After forming a production company and landing a major deal with Netflix last year, former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have landed on several projects they plan to bring to the small screen.

True to the Obamas’ diverse interests during their time in the White House, the movie and television projects, announced by Netflix on Tuesday, span a wide range of topics and genres.

Here’s a look at the newly announced projects that the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions will take on:

  • “American Factory,” a documentary that Netflix acquired at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, “takes a deep dive into a post-industrial Ohio, where a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant and hires two thousand blue-collar Americans.” The film won the festival’s prestigious Directing Award for U.S. Documentary.

  • “Bloom,” a drama series about women and people of color facing discrimination while working in the New York fashion world after World War II. The series is co-created by Oscar winner Callie Khouri, best known for writing “Thelma and Louise.”

  • “Crip Camp,” a documentary currently in production about a 1970s summer camp that influenced the disability rights movement.

  • A movie adaptation of “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” a biography by author David W. Blight. The book just won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for history.

  • A scripted series based on the New York Times’ Overlooked, the paper’s series of obituaries celebrating the lives of important women and people of color who were not covered at the time of their deaths.

  • “Listen To Your Vegetables and Eat Your Parents,” a children’s series that “will take young children and their families around the globe on an adventure that tells us the story of our food.”

The Obamas’ production company previously announced that it would produce a documentary series based on author Michael Lewis’ book “The Fifth Risk,” about career government workers navigating the chaotic transition between the Obama and Trump administrations.

“We created Higher Ground to harness the power of storytelling. That’s why we couldn’t be more excited about these projects,” former President Barack Obama said in a press release. “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.”

Referring to the wide range of projects, former first lady Michelle Obama said, “We think there’s something here for everyone—moms and dads, curious kids, and anyone simply looking for an engaging, uplifting watch at the end of a busy day.”

According to Netflix, the projects are in various stages of development and will premiere over the next several years.

A source close to the Obamas’ production deal previously told HuffPost that the first of their projects would not appear on Netflix until at least at the end of this year.

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