Showtime’s The First Lady has cast its Barack Obama.
The Handmaid’s Tale‘s O-T Fagbenle will play the former president and star opposite Viola Davis in the anthology that focuses on the personal and political lives of the country’s most enigmatic heroes.
Season one of the series is centered on Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Michelle Obama (Davis).
Author Aaron Cooley (Four Seats: A Thriller of the Supreme Court) created the series and will write and exec produce alongside Davis and her husband/JuVee Productions partner Julius Tennon, Oscar winner Cathy Schulman and her Welle Entertainment banner (Crash), Jeff Gaspin (L.A.’s Finest) and Link Entertainment’s Brad Kaplan (Mr. Church). The series is a co-production between Showtime and Lionsgate Television. Andrew Wang and Susanne Bier, the latter of whom will direct, also exec produce.
Fagbenle’s credits include Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Disney’s upcoming Marvel feature Black Widow, due in theaters in May. Last year, he created, wrote, directed, composed, exec produced and starred in Hulu’s British comedy Maxxx. He’s repped by Buchwald and Hansen Jacobson.
He joins a cast that also includes Judy Greer as Nancy Howe, Eckhart as President Gerald Ford, Jayme Lawson as young Michelle Obama, Kristine Forseth as young Betty Ford and Rhys Wakefield as former Vice President Dick Cheney.
