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Obamas to Produce Netflix Movies and Shows Under Multiyear Deal

Barack and Michelle Obama are embarking on an unusual post-White House career: TV producers.

Obamas to Produce Netflix Movies and Shows Under Multiyear Deal
Michelle Obama wipes the shoulder of U.S. President Barack Obama while standing outside of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. (Photographer: TKTK/Pool via Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Barack and Michelle Obama are embarking on an unusual post-White House career: TV producers.

The former president and first lady entered a multiyear deal with Netflix Inc. to create a “diverse mix” of programs, which may include scripted series, documentaries and feature films, the company said on Monday. The Obamas will create the material through a firm called Higher Ground Productions.

The move gives the couple an influential perch following their departure from the White House in 2017. Netflix, the top paid video-streaming service, reaches 125 million households in 190 countries.

“We hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world,” Barack Obama, 56, said in a statement.

The former president was already the first guest on David Letterman’s Netflix talk show.

Netflix, based in Los Gatos, California, already hosts numerous political documentaries. That includes one on Barack Obama’s opponent in the 2012 election, Mitt Romney.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net

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