; and a docuseries based on Michael Lewis', which takes aim at the Trump administration — perhaps the lineup's only arguably partisan offering.
"Other production companies have to develop things and then hope it gets on air. The fact that they are working directly through Netflix means they have a guarantee that the content they are developing is going to be [available to 150 million people]," says UTA's Darnell Strom, who met with Obama at the Brilliant Minds conference in Stockholm in June when the president addressed a no-press audience that included Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos.
Sources familiar with the Obamas' deal say it stems from an already deep relationship with Sarandos, whose wife, Nicole Avant, served as the ambassador to the Bahamas during the Obama administration. In fact, Sarandos sits atop the list of advisers the president leans on most heavily for Hollywood advice.
The relationship with Sarandos cuts both ways, with the exec using Obama to entice reluctant talent. A source says that the TV-allergic Denzel Washington took a meeting with Sarandos in the fall, and Obama justto be in Sarandos' offices, extolling the merits of the streamer. The lure of having Obama in the room seems to have worked, to a degree: Washington moved, a project he is producing, from HBO to the streamer but has rebuffed any offers to star. When Netflix was battling Warner Bros.
The biggest question mark is how much time the Obamas will dedicate to Hollywood. "He's engaged, spending a lot of time on this, but he's in the middle of finishing his book," says one source. Insiders expect the president to increase his level of attention in the coming year. Michelle has wrapped herListen to Your Vegetables"They don't only want to do politics or things that feel narrowly progressive," says an agency source. "They were open.
netflix This f'ing guy and his democratic diplomacy is pushing me off. He must want to meet me or something. Hey Obama I'm not that interesting nor a leftist. But my girlfriend loves you. And that drives me to drink.