‘The First Lady’ EP Teases Commonalities Between Three Very Different Women

The First Lady Michelle Pfeiffer
Preview
Murray Close/SHOWTIME

It takes a power trio to play a power trio in The First Lady.

For the 10-episode first season of its anthology on formidable FLOTUSes, Showtime enlisted Michelle Pfeiffer to play Betty Ford, Viola Davis for the role of Michelle Obama, and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt.

The First Lady Michelle Pfeiffer, Viola Davis, Gillian Anderson

(Credit: Ramona Rosales/SHOWTIME)

“What [these first ladies] had in common that fascinates,” executive producer Cathy Schulman says, “is that none of them wanted to be there. Eleanor wanted to be president — she didn’t want to be first lady. Betty went into the White House kicking and screaming, and Michelle was absolutely terrified for the lives of herself and her family.”

See their East Wing success stories unfold and, oh yeah, actors Aaron Eckhart, O-T Fagbenle, and Kiefer Sutherland as Presidents Ford, Obama, and Roosevelt.

The First Lady, Series premiere 9/8c, Showtime