Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are producing a comedy about the Trump administration for Netflix.
Deadline reports that the series will be loosely based on Michael Lewis’ book “The Fifth Risk,” which focuses on the chaotic Trump transition following his upset win in the 2016 election.
Lewis is also the author of “Moneyball” and “The Big Short,” both of which were turned into successful movies.
According to Deadline, the Obamas’ Netflix show, “will go inside the machine of government and introduce viewers to the civil servants who make it work. It will ask whether government is a dirty word or a trusted institution.” It will be part sketch comedy, part documentary.
The show will be called “The G Word with Adam Conover.”
“Very happy to finally be able to share this news: I’m creating a new comedy series for Netflix about the federal government. It’s called The G Word, and I can’t wait to share it with you,” Conover wrote on Twitter, confirming the news.
The choice of Conover as creator may give a clue about what kind of show to expect. Conover is the creator and star of “Adam Ruins Everything,” which started as a CollegeHumor web series before getting redone for truTV. The sketch comedy show features Conover as a know-it-all host who reveals the truth behind common myths and misinterpretations about history and the everyday world.
The new series is slated to start production in 2021.
The Obamas inked a multi-year production deal with Netflix for an undisclosed amount after leaving office. Their first production for Netflix was a documentary called “American Factory.”
The Obamas’ production company is named Higher Ground Productions.
Netflix’s chief content officer raised more than a half million for the former president’s 2012 re-election campaign, and his wife served as Obama’s ambassador to the Bahamas. Netflix’s founder endorsed Clinton in the 2016 campaign.
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