Barack and Michelle Obama are getting into the television business with Monday's announcement that they had signed a multi-year deal with Netflix.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama waits to greet Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife Agnese Landini on the North Portico for a State Dinner at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The former president and first lady have formed their own production company, Higher Ground Productions, for the material. In announcing a deal that had been rumored since March, Netflix offered no specifics on what shows they would make.
Netflix said the Obamas would make "a diverse mix of content," potentially including scripted and unscripted series, documentaries or features.
"We hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the wider world," Barack Obama said in Netflix's announcement.
The Obamas can be expected to participate in some of the programming onscreen, said a person familiar with the deal, not authorized to talk publicly about it, on condition of anonymity. The programming itself is not expected to be partisan in nature; a president who often derided the way things were covered on cable news won't be joining in.
The type of people that Obama — like other presidents — brought forward as guests at his State of the Union addresses would likely provide fodder for the kinds of stories they want to tell.
"Barack and I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others," Michelle Obama said.
No content from the deal is expected to be available until at least 2019, said the person familiar with the deal.
The former president appeared in January on David Letterman's Netflix talk show, "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction." Obama is said to be friendly with Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer, and discussions for other programming were already under way.
"We are incredibly proud they have chosen to make Netflix the home for their formidable storytelling abilities," Sarandos said.
Netflix has 125 million subscribers worldwide. The company has always been reluctant to discuss how many people watch its programming, but it clearly dominates the growing market for streaming services. Roughly 10 percent of television viewing now is through these services, the Nielsen company said.
Forty-nine percent of streaming being viewed now comes through Netflix, and no other service comes close, Nielsen said.
Jerry Seinfeld's upcoming Netflix comedy will be featured during this weekend's IndyCar race at Long Beach as rookie Linus Lundqvist will drive a car painted to look like a Pop-Tart in recognition of the movie “Unfrosted.”
Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 8 will be painted in the texture of an unfrosted Pop-Tart along with images of Seinfeld and some of the movie cast members. The partnership, which is in collaboration with Ganassi sponsor American Legion, is promoting the May 3 film release.
The movie marks the directorial debut for the comedian.
Seinfeld claimed all the way back in 2018 that he had been "thinking about an invention of the Pop-Tart movie. Imagine the drunk on sugar-power Kellogg’s cereal culture of the mid-60s in Battle Creek, (Michigan) That’s a vibe I could work with.”
The movie, co-written by Seinfeld, stars Seinfeld along with Jim Gaffigan, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Hugh Grant, James Marsden, Bill Burr, Fred Armisen, Dan Levy and others. “Unfrosted” tells the tale of 1963 Michigan, the year before Pop-Tarts hit grocery store shelves.
“Making a movie about Pop-Tarts has led to so many wonderful, unexpected surprises, and as a car guy, I honestly cannot believe our film’s logo will be on an IndyCar entry this weekend," Seinfeld said. “I am grateful to Chip Ganassi Racing for making this happen, and honored to be affiliated with The American Legion and the work they do to support American Veterans.”
The American Legion signed off on the promotion as part of its “Be the One” mission that aims to save the lives of veterans by raising awareness, destigmatizing mental-health treatment and educating veterans, service members and their loved ones about what to do when a person appears at risk of suicide. Comedy is often used as a way to alleviate the symptoms that can lead to thoughts of suicide.
“The ability for the American Legion to partner with Jerry Seinfeld, ‘Unfrosted’ and Netflix is an incredible opportunity to expose our organization and the work we do for veterans to an entirely new audience within the entertainment community — and — the general public that are fans of Jerry Seinfeld and his comedy," said Dean Kessel, chief marketing officer of The American Legion.
“We know that humor can be therapeutic for those battling mental health issues. Partnering with the ‘Unfrosted’ project ties nicely into our ‘Be The One’ platform and our efforts to destigmatize veterans who are seeking help and our prevention of veteran suicide."
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FILE - Jerry Seinfeld is shown before the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships between Casper Ruud, of Norway, and Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, in New York. Seinfeld's upcoming Netflix comedy will be featured during this weekend's IndyCar race at Long Beach as rookie Linus Lundqvist will drive a car painted to look like a Pop-Tart in recognition of the movie “Unfrosted.”(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
