Netflix Confirms Details On The Obamas' First Scripted Series From Higher Ground Productions

Streaming giant Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) confirmed details about the first scripted drama series from former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, who will serve as executive producers. Here is what we know so far.

What Happened: According to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, the Obama’s Higher Ground Productions — which signed a content deal with Netflix back in 2018 — are working with showrunners Jez Scharf and Alex Metcalf on “Bodkin.”

The show, which stars actor Will Forte, is set for seven episodes and will center around a group of podcasters investigating a missing persons case.

Scharf and Metcalf will also serve as executive producers.

“'Bodkin' is a darkly comedic thriller about a motley crew of podcasters who set out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in an idyllic, coastal Irish town. But once they start pulling at threads, they discover a story much bigger and weirder than they could have ever imagined,” the plot reads.

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Why It’s Important: Forte, a former cast member of "Saturday Night Live," is also the creator and star of the former Fox Corp. (NASDAQ: FOX) hit "The Last Man on Earth." The post-apocalyptic comedy aired for four seasons on Fox and earned Forte Emmy nominations for acting and writing.

The Obamas, under their imprint Higher Ground, have a lineup of past and upcoming content that includes scripted comedies and animated children’s content including “Ada Twist,” “We the People,” “American Factory,” “Crip Camp,” “Becoming” and “Fatherhood.”

“Fatherhood,” which starred Kevin Hart, was watched by over 61 million households in the first four weeks on the streaming platform.

Barack Obama served as the narrator of the Netflix docuseries “Our Great National Parks,” which was also from Higher Ground.

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos praised the Obamas in 2018 when the deal was first signed.

“Barack and Michelle Obama are among the world’s most respected and highly-recognizable public figures and are uniquely positioned to discover and highlight stories of people who make a difference in their communities and strive to change the world for the better,” Sarandos said at the time.

The Obamas previously had an exclusive deal with Spotify Technology (NYSE: SPOT) that ended as the company shopped around its podcasts to several distributors.

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