Viola Davis is a national treasure, so it is only natural for her to play another national treasure.
In The First Lady, Davis play everyone’s favorite first lady, Michelle Obama.
Naturally, Davis was elated to play such a modern-day role model.
In her words, this was the honor of a lifetime.
The trailer, which dropped recently, focuses on the lives of various presidential couples throughout the nation’s history.
It follows their personal lives behind closed doors, the political and personal struggles each of them faced, and how they handled their contributions to the country.
Davis is not the only major star to feature in the show.
The Handmaid’s Tale’s O-T Fagbenle will portray Barack Obama, Little Fires Everywhere’s Lexi Underwood will play Malia Obama, and King Richard’s Saniyya Sidney will be Sasha Obama.
The X-Files’ Gillian Anderson will play Eleanor Roosevelt, with Little Women’s Eliza Scanlen playing her younger self.
Other stars include Isaiah Williams as Martin Luther King III, Christopher Plummer and Keifer Sutherland as older and younger versions of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and more.
The trailer shows the first ladies as anything but weak or supporting characters.
It makes them a force to be reckoned with.
For instance, Anderson’s Roosevelt reminds her husband that he is the husband of a wife with her own mind and life.
Similarly, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Betty Ford tells her husband that, even though she will be there for him, she will not stop being herself.
According to the official website, The First Lady’s goal is to show modern American history through the eyes of these powerful women.
Jana Winograde, the president of entertainment at Showtime Networks Inc., explained how presidents’ spouses have always had a remarkable influence on the leaders and, by extension, on the country.
The First Lady, which will have 10 episodes, is scheduled to release on April 17.