Talk about canceled. This is one type of canceling that I really don’t have a problem with. Not that cancel culture is a good thing. It sucks, really. But sometimes you get to see the canceller getting canceled. Think Harvey Weinstein and Al Franken. Now, former First Lady Michelle Obama joins the list.
According to a report from Deadline News:
“Showtime will not be picking up a second season of one-hour drama anthology series The First Lady. The star-studded Season 1 of the anthology, set in the East Wing of the White House and focused on telling the stories of America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic first ladies, centered on Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer)\ and Michelle Obama (Viola Davis), with Davis also serving as executive producer.”
“Showtime can confirm that the anthology series The First Lady will not be moving forward with another season,” a spokesperson for the network said in a statement to Deadline. “We would like to applaud the artistry and commitment of our showrunner Cathy Schulman, director Susanne Bier, their fellow executive producers, our amazing cast — led by executive producer Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson — and our studio partner Lionsgate for their dedicated work in telling the unique stories of three remarkable leaders.
“The First Lady, which received a lukewarm reception from critics, hailed from writer Aaron Cooley, Davis and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions; Cathy Schulman’s Welle Entertainment (Otherhood); and Jeff Gaspin’s Gaspin Media. Cooley executive produced along with Davis and Tennon via their JuVee Productions, Schulman via Welle Entertainment, Gaspin via Gaspin Media and Brad Kaplan via Link Entertainment. Susanne Bier was director/exec producer. Showtime and Lionsgate TV co-produced the series.”
“At TCA in February, Schulman and Bier shared that they were exploring potential future installments that they said could feature Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Hillary Clinton, Dolly Madison, Edith Wilson, Martha Washington, Rosalynn Carter or Melania Trump.”
This is the second time she’s been canceled recently too. They lost another deal from Spotify in April. According to a report from New York Post:
“One of the sticking points in negotiations with Spotify was the Swedish company’s insistence on an exclusive licensing deal.”
“Even if the Obamas produce podcasts for another company, those shows will in all likelihood make their way to Spotify anyway.”
“Streaming services want the Obamas to make more frequent appearances themselves in order to generate more buzz for their company’s content, but the former first couple is reportedly willing to commit to no more than an eight-episode program.”
“Higher Ground was paid a reported $25 million after signing with Spotify in 2019.”
While canceling isn’t good, I can only imagine that we dodged a bullet with this one. There is no way that they would have been remotely objective when talking about Melania Trump. And God help us all if the Hillary video came out since you know she’d just use it to push her own run for President…again! Do you think that Showtime made the right decision to cancel Michelle?
