Barack Obama In Advanced Talks With Netflix For Production Deal, Reports ‘New York Times’
The Obamas could be headed to Netflix. The 44th President and former first lady Michelle Obama are reportedly in “advanced negotiations” to produce a series of shows for the streaming service, according to two separately-sourced reports by the New York Times and CNN. The TV deal would focus on exclusive content that highlights inspirational stories and would not serve as the Obamas’ direct rebuttal to Donald Trump’s White House.
Barack and Michelle Obama’s deal with Netflix has not yet been finalized and the number of episodes and format for the shows has not been determined. But the Times’ report suggests that a possible format could include the former president moderating “conversations on topics that dominated his presidency,” including topics like health care, immigration, foreign policy, and climate change. Another series “could feature Mrs. Obama on topics, like nutrition, that she championed in the White House.” A source for CNN said Barack Obama could appear on camera or stay behind the scenes as a producer.
This is not the first time a former U.S. president has been in talks for a TV deal after exiting the White House. According to Indie Wire, in 2002, President Bill Clinton was in negotiations to headline a talk show for NBC to be produced by friends Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. King World also considered a Clinton show, but no deals were ever finalized.
Obama and Netflix in talks for producing deal (report)https://t.co/qPiSCGil1k pic.twitter.com/uokoAYKRo1
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 9, 2018
Should the Obamas’ deal come to fruition, the former first couple would join other big name producers recently employed by Netflix, including Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy.
Barack Obama appeared on Netflix earlier this year when he was a guest on the first episode of David Letterman’s six-part Netflix series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. Barack Obama is reportedly friendly with Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. The Netflix executive’s wife, Nicole Avant, was President Obama’s ambassador to the Bahamas.
In addition to the proposed Netflix deal, the Obamas have other projects in the pipeline. According to Deadline, President and Michelle Obama both have books deals with Penguin Random House in the works, which are worth more than $60 million. Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, will be released in the fall, while the former President is still working on his own memoir, with no release date set.
Netflix currently has more than 118 million subscribers worldwide. Reps for the global streaming giant have not yet commented on the Times’ or CNN’s reports.
You can see a clip from President Barack Obama’s previous appearance on Netflix below.
