'The First Lady' Cast on Portraying Their Real-Life White House Counterparts (Exclusive)

HBO’s The Survivor will be shown at the White House on Thursday, marking President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s first official screening since taking office.

The First Lady.Davis called the reception to the series “incredibly hurtful” after the Washington Post’s Inkoo Kang criticised “Emmy-baiting performances” from Davis as well as Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson.“Critics absolutely serve no purpose,” Davis said in an interview with the BBC. “And I’m not saying that to be nasty, either.

Putting it all out there. Viola Davis doesn’t have time for critics — especially when it comes to her portrayal of Michelle Obama on Showtime’s The First Lady.

Manori Ravindran International EditorViola Davis has responded to critics of her portrayal of Michelle Obama in Showtime’s “The First Lady,” admitting that “not everything is going to be an awards-worthy performance.”In an interview with BBC News to promote her new memoir, “Finding Me,” the Oscar, Tony and Emmy-winning actor spoke candidly about her turn as the former First Lady, which drew barbs from audiences and critics for Davis’ take on Obama’s facial expressions and pursed lips.Davis said it was “incredibly hurtful when people say negative things about your work.”“How do you move on from the hurt, from failure?” she said. “But you have to.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery+ is set to launch a new docuseries focused on Black food history in America from producer Viola Davis, featuring scholar and cookbook author Caroline Randall Williams as host, Variety has learned exclusively.The four-episode show, titled “Hungry for Answers,” will follow Williams as she travels the country, “uncovering the fascinating, essential, and often untold Black stories behind some of America’s classic and emblematic food and spirits,” per the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer.

inked a three-year agreement for an undisclosed amount. According to Bloomberg and The Los Angeles Times, the couple will not be renewing their contract, which ends in October, and they are now seeking a new home for their podcasts.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorHigher Ground, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s media company, is ending its exclusive podcast deal with Spotify and is shopping for other partners in the podcasting space, Variety has confirmed.The Obamas are exiting their exclusive pact with Spotify, originally inked in 2019, after being frustrated with the company’s exclusive terms — primarily, they want to have their podcast programming as widely distributed as possible, according to a source familiar with the situation. Higher Ground also has disagreed with Spotify over how many of its shows would feature the former president and first lady, as first reported by reported by Bloomberg.Reps for Spotify and Higher Ground declined to comment.

Michelle and Barack Obama are back to being empty nesters. On Tuesday’s episode of, the former first lady of the United States talks about saying “bye” to her now-grown daughters, Sasha, 20, and Malia, 23 — after they both moved out of the family home, again.  “It was an extra special treat to have them that little bit of time,” Obama tells DeGeneres about her family’s time in quarantine together.

Look… even a heavy hitter like Viola Davis can miss every once in a while.

depiction of Michelle Obama in Showtime’s series “The First Lady” turned heads on Sunday evening following the premiere.The episode made fans’ jaws drop when they saw the Oscar winner’s portrayal of former President Barack Obama’s wife.Watchers were confused over one scene in which Davis, 56, is talking and her lips were overly-pursed in an exaggerated way. The scene involves Davis as Michelle conversing with her husband Barack, played by O.

Michelle Pfieffer is opening up about her latest role.

Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, Showtime's   examines American leadership from the eyes of three iconic First Ladies. Premiering on Sunday, April 17,  will dive into Obama's, Ford's and Roosevelt's political and personal lives, while examining the impact the White House's women had on the nation. The new drama series is streaming exclusively on Showtime. Watch on Showtime«She is all things.

Inside the halls of power. Showtime’s new series The First Lady examines what goes on in the White House through the lens of presidential wives — and several stars underwent major transformations to play them.

The Flight Attendant , and it's a good thing that HBO Max is rolling out only the first two episodes on Thursday because your stress levels won't be able to take that much more. “As big as season one is, season two is an even bigger swing,” "I would say it's 10 times the size in scope."She's not kidding.

Michelle Pfeiffer is in awe of Dakota Fanning. The 63-year-old actress met the budding actress when she was just 6 years old as co-stars on , and some two decades later they've come full circle on .While at the red carpet premiere for the Showtime scripted anthology series, Pfeiffer recalled to ET's Nischelle Turner about meeting Fanning as a little girl when they teamed up for the 2001 melodrama film, which also starred Sean Penn.«She turned seven on and I bought her a Barbie Winnebago,» Pfeiffer recalled.

Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, Showtime's   examines American leadership from the eyes of three iconic First Ladies. Premiering on Sunday, April 17,  will dive into Obama's, Ford's and Roosevelt's political and personal lives, while examining the impact the White House's women had on the nation. The new drama series is set to stream exclusively on Showtime. Sign Up for Showtime«She is all things.

Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, Showtime's   examines American leadership from the eyes of three iconic First Ladies. Premiering on Sunday, will dive into Obama's, Ford's and Roosevelt's political and personal lives, while examining the impact the White House's women had on the nation. Sign Up for Showtime«She is all things. She is a hero,» Davis told ET about portraying Mrs.

LOS ANGELES -- “The First Lady” presents three influential women, three acclaimed actors playing them, and a century of history encompassing wars, presidential scandal and America's stubborn gender and race fault lines.The ambitious Showtime drama series proved an irresistible challenge for Oscar-winning director Susanne Bier. While its subjects — Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama — each have a “compelling and gripping" story, the sum is even greater, Bier said of her first biographical project.“It was interesting to me that it wasn't one biopic,” Bier said in an interview.