The Obamas share new movies and shows lineup at Netflix

The Obamas and Netflix just shared the projects the are currently working on for the streaming giant through their new production company, Higher Ground Productions.

Barack and Michelle Obama just announced the list of projects they are working on with their production company Higher Ground Productions, for Netflix. Less than a year ago, the Obamas announced the company with an exclusive Netflix deal.

The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis was acquired by the company about 6 months ago and that title, along with others, is now officially in green-light status.

According to The New York Times, there are seven projects in the works at Netflix. We don’t know a lot of details about all the projects, but The New York Times did share some good information about a few of the projects.

American Factory is the project that seems to be the furthest along. The project is a documentary and it will be directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, according to the report. The film follows  a new factory in Ohio that was opened by a Chinese billionaire

It’s not all documentaries in the works at Higher Ground. Bloom is a new drama set shortly after World War II. According to the report, Callie Khouri, who wrote the screenplay for Thelma & Louise is producing the series, and the series tells the story of the many “barriers faced by women and by people of color in an era marked by hurdles but also tremendous progress.”The series is produced by Callie Khouri, best known for writing Thelma & Louise.

According to the report, the other projects include a film about Frederick Douglas, which is based on David W. Blight’s biography Frederick Douglas: Prophet of Freedom, a documentary series based on The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy, a documentary series based on Overlooked, a new documentary called Crip Camp, and a kids series titled Listen To Your Vegetables and Eat Your Parents. 

The New York Times also quoted a statement by President Obama saying:

"“Touching on issues of race and class, democracy and civil rights and much more, we believe each of these productions won’t just entertain, but will educate, connect and inspire us all.”"

This is by far not a full list of all the projects that Higher Ground will produce for Netflix but they are the only announced projects so far. With a multi-year deal and plenty of access to incredible talent, I’m sure we will see many more of these types of announcements in the future.

Do any of these projects make you excited to see what more will come from the Obamas and their new film production company? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!