In a Hollywood Reporter exclusive report, President Obama's first Netflix drama series will be a darkly comedic thriller that stars Will Forte. Barack and Michelle Obama are making their way back into the entertainment industry, this time as producers on a series called ‘Bodkin.' The Higher Ground production company will take care of everything from writing to exec producing with help from Nne Ebong. The latter had worked alongside them previously at ABC before moving onto Netflix.
About Will Forte:
Will Forte is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and voice actor. He is best known for his work on the Fox sketch comedy series ‘Saturday Night Live.'
Forte joined the cast of ‘Saturday Night Live' in 2002, where he starred in various digital shorts and sketches, most notably as MacGruber. He went on to co-star in the films Elf' (2003), ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' (2004), ‘The Descendants' (2011), ‘Nebraska' (2013), and '22 Jump Street' (2014). He has also had voice roles in the animated films Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and its sequel' Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2′ (2013), ‘The Lego Movie' (2014), and its spin-off ‘The Lego Batman Movie' (2017).
Forte created, wrote, produced, and starred in the Fox comedy series ‘The Last Man on Earth,' which ran for four seasons from 2015 to 2018. He has also had roles in the films Jurassic World' (2015), ‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping' (2016), and ‘Downsizing' (2017).
About Obama's Netflix Deal:
This is not the first time the Obamas' have been involved with Netflix. In May, it was announced that Michelle Obama would be teaming up with the streaming service for a series of shows focused on nutrition and wellness.
The yet-to-be-titled series will be produced by Higher Ground Productions, the Obamas' production company, in partnership with Netflix. It's not surprising that the Obamas have decided to partner with Netflix, given their previous experience in the entertainment industry.
It's still unclear when ‘Bodkin' will be released, but with production starting soon, we'll likely see the show sometime in 2022.
