Everything We Know About Barack And Michelle Obama's Netflix Shows

Former United States President Barack Obama is reportedly in “advanced negotiations” with Netflix to be the centerpiece of at least one show on the popular streaming platform, the New York Times reported. Former First Lady Michelle Obama would also be included in the ambitious and unprecedented media deal.

However, since no official announcement has been made, the nature of the agreement is up in the air. The idea seems to be that Barack and Michelle would be involved with multiple shows, ideally with the two of them in front of the camera rather than merely acting as producers. Beyond that, there is still little to report on the specific concepts for the programs.

One thing the Times report made clear is that Obama would not use his Netflix platform to pick battles with current U.S. President Donald Trump. That is not to say the programming will not be devoid of politics, as one idea involved Obama moderating debates about things like health care and climate change. Michelle, meanwhile, could do something about nutrition, a topic she focused heavily on during her eight years as First Lady.

Per the Times, one way Obama could use this platform is to battle the omnipresent problem of fake news. His stance on the issue is well-known, as he told Mark Zuckerberg to take the problem seriously on Facebook and has publicly never been a big fan of Fox News. It is possible the Obamas could produce shows that push their agendas forward without ever directly challenging Trump.

It would be in keeping with the former president’s recent appearance on David Letterman’s Netflix show. In that interview, Obama spoke openly about some political issues, but never said anything about Trump himself. It was a major get for Netflix and could have potentially been a test run for Obama’s future shows.

Obama appealed to young voters in a way no other recent president has, and the move to Netflix reflects that. Nothing is set in stone just yet, but it sounds like he may be using one of the most popular media platforms among young people to communicate his core values, without needing to please advertisers.