Viola Davis Has Been Cast As Michelle Obama In The Showtime Series ‘First Ladies’
Viola Davis will play Michelle Obama in the new Showtime series First Ladies, reports TVLine. The show will focus on the personal and political lives of the many women that have served as First Lady throughout history. Davis and her husband, Julius Tennon, will executive produce from their shared company, JuVee Productions.
According to TVLine, the series logline is as follows.
“In the East Wing of the White House, many of history’s most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic first ladies.”
The first season will focus on Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Betty Ford. Aside from Davis as Obama, no other roles have been cast.
Showtime’s president of entertainment, Jana Winograde, called Davis’s casting “a dream come true.” She also said that First Ladies fits well in the network’s “wheelhouse of drama and politics.”
The Widows actress shared a screenshot of a news article on her Instagram yesterday.
“Honoring and elevating these powerful, worthy Queens with respect,” she wrote.
The 54-year-old actress’s 4.4 million followers were overjoyed by the casting news. Many of her admirers flocked to her comments section to congratulate her on the show. Several people wrote that she was the perfect choice to play the first lady, and they couldn’t think of an actress that would be better suited to the job.
A few people tried to predict who would be cast to play Roosevelt and Ford and even offered suggestions based on who they thought would best fit.
“Couldn’t think of a better choice to represent the first lady,” said one fan.
“There is no other person in this world who can do it better,” said a second user, adding heart-eyes and red heart emoji to their remark.
“YASSSSSS!!! The best depicting the best…. doesn’t get any better than that. Can’t wait to watch the magic unfold!” gushed a third person.
Aside from her regular followers, many of the Academy Award winner’s famous colleagues liked and commented on her post, including Shonda Rhimes, Allison Janney, Kelly McCreary, Grace Byers, and Colman Domingo.
Currently, Davis is starring in the sixth and final season of the hit ABC drama How to Get Away with Murder. The show will finish up for good later this year. Davis has multiple projects in the works, including Suicide Squad 2, which is currently filming. It’s not yet clear when she’ll start working on First Ladies or when the series will officially premiere on Showtime.
