★★★★★ 0/5

Axed: The First Lady

Anthology series with Gillian Anderson, Michelle Pfeiffer & Viola Davis ends at a single season.

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Anthology series The First Lady has been axed after just a single season -a disappointing outcome for such a star vehicle.

The first season focussed on three different eras of the White House, following the private lives of Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Michelle Obama (Viola Davis).

“Showtime can confirm that the anthology series The First Lady will not be moving forward with another season,” a Showtime spokesperson said. “We would like to applaud the artistry and commitment of our showrunner Cathy Schulman, director Susanne Bier, their fellow executive producers, our amazing cast, led by executive producer Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson, and our studio partner Lionsgate for their dedicated work in telling the unique stories of three remarkable leaders.”

But the series received a lukewarm response from critics, at 41% on Rotten Tomatoes, and just three craft nods from the Emmy Awards.

It screened in Australia on Paramount+.

Source: Variety

2 Responses

  1. I was really disappointed by this series despite the promise of a great ensemble casr. I struggled with the portrayal of Michelle Obama. The actor (who I won’t name) portrayed her mannerisms in forced way, and the characterisation felt too different from the person whose book I read not long before seeing the show. I didn’t get through the first episode.

    1. I agree. That storyline was a disaster. And the weird lip pursing thing was just bizarre. It was almost like they were doing a comedy sketch. But the Betty Ford storyline was good. Michele Pfeiffer was excellent. Company Anderson was also good, but they downplayed the significant accomplishments of Eleanor Roosevelt. Also did weird. The whole thing was so poorly edited. It was confusing at times when they jumped around with the timelines. It would have been better to have dedicated episodes to each first lady.

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