Every Project Barack and Michelle Obama Are Producing for Netflix
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In 2018, the Obamas revealed that they had struck a deal to create a production company based at Netflix, called Higher Ground Productions. In the intervening years, they've released three documentaries—Becoming, Crip Camp, and the Oscar-winning American Factory—but they have much more in the works.
The status of some projects first announced in 2019 (namely Bloom, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, Overlooked, and Listen to Your Vegetables and Eat Your Parents) is unclear, but the Obamas continue to unveil new slates of planned programming, including exciting projects with the likes of Riz Ahmed, Tayarisha Poe, and Rian Johnson. Check out everything that's been announced under the Higher Ground Productions banner below.
Newly Announced
Exit West
Riz Ahmed has been tapped to star in this adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's novel, which follows a couple who discover, along with other refugees, supernatural doors than can transport them around the world. Yann Demange (White Boy Rick) is set to direct.
Firekeeper's Daughter
Based on the forthcoming novel from Angeline Boulley, this YA series follows a Native 18-year-old who reluctantly goes undercover in a police investigation on her own Ojibwe reservation.
Great National Parks
Blue Planet II's James Honeyborne is set to helm this natural history series about national parks and wild spaces around the globe.
Satellite
A sci-fi film from director Rian Johnson (Knives Out, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) and writer Ola Shokunbi.
Tenzing
A biopic about Tenzing Norgay, who became the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest along with Sir Edmund Hillary. Documentary director Jennifer Peedom will make her narrative debut, working from a script by Luke Davies, adapted from Ed Douglas's book Tenzing: Hero of Everest.
The Young Wife
Selah and the Spades director Tayarisha Poe will tell the story of Celestina, a bride-to-be who feels out of sync on her wedding day as a storm approaches.
Previously Announced
The G Word with Adam Conover
Loosely based on Michael Lewis's book The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy, The G Word will blend documentary and sketch comedy to explore the federal bureaucracy.
Ada Twist, Scientist
Doc McStuffins and Vampirina creator Chris Nee is partnering with the Obamas to create an animated preschool series based on the bestselling books from author Andrea Beaty and illustrator David Roberts.
Bloom
This post-WWII television series comes from a talented creative team: Thelma and Louise writer Callie Khouri, The Wire director Clement Virgo, and City of the Sun author Juliana Maio. The show is described as an "upstairs/downstairs drama," which will focus on the struggles of women and people of color.
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom
Author David W. Blight's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, is being adapted into a feature-length film.
Overlooked
This scripted anthology series will be adapted from the New York Times's obituary column "Overlooked," which resurfaces the stories of boundary-breaking people who hadn't previously received Times obituaries.
Listen to Your Vegetables and Eat Your Parents
A half-hour series for preschool children and their families, Listen to Your Vegetables and Eat Your Parents aims to tell the story of the food we eat.
Released
Becoming
A documentary about Michelle Obama's transition to post-White House life, centering on the book tour for her memoir of the same name.
American Factory
Higher Ground acquired this documentary film following its acclaimed debut at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. American Factory follows an abandoned car factory in Ohio, reopened by a Chinese billionaire. At first, all seems well—two thousand new jobs are created—but the picture soon becomes more complicated.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
The story of a pivotal moment in the disability rights movement is brought to light in Crip Camp, a documentary co-directed by Jim LeBrecht, who was himself involved in the movement at the time.
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