So here’s a crossover we didn’t see coming. After a year of keeping a low profile, Barack and Michelle Obama are stepping back into the public square to try their hand at a new enterprise: film production. The pair on Monday announced a multi-year production deal with streaming giant Netflix, which said the couple would potentially produce “scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries, and features.”
“One of the simple joys of our time in public service was getting to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience,” the former president said in a statement. “That’s why Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix—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 entire world.”
The announcement comes as great news for liberals who have craved a dose of Cool President ever since the Obamas decamped from the White House. Sure, Obama’s interview on David Letterman’s Netflix show was great, but you can only watch that so many times. The new, open-ended arrangement promises a potentially inexhaustible cultural drip of Obama Content, providing a window into a world where it’s forever 2008. The former president clearly knows his audience: among his younger, hipper fans, Obama was always as much a cultural force as he was a political actor, and it’s hard to imagine a better job description for 2018’s cultural movers and shakers than “Netflix producer.”
Engaging politically with 2018, on the other hand, is apparently not high on Producer Obama’s to-film list: According to the New York Times, “The former president has told associates that he does not intend to use his new platform to wage a public campaign against his successor in the Oval Office, or to fight against conservative media outlets like Fox News.” Not that there’s anything wrong with this! If we’ve learned nothing else from the regrettable public battles respectable figures from James Comey to Marco Rubio have waged against President Trump, it’s that generally all they succeed in doing is dragging themselves down to The Donald’s level.
Here’s another thing: What more appropriate gig could there be for a former president who’s seen his legacy of government-by-executive-order systematically dismantled than a content creator for an online streaming service? Maybe when Trump finally exits the Oval Office, he’ll devote his talents and personal fortune to a new hobby: Gobbling up shares in Netflix for no other purpose than to get the Obamas off the air. You have to admit, it’d make for great TV.
