"The First Lady" Canceled After 1 Season Amid Awful Reviews And More

[Ubiquitous]

"The First Lady" Showtime series, a portion of which was about Michelle
Obama, has been canceled after one season and will not be renewed for a
second one amid awful reviews and more.

The 10-part anthology series debuted on the network a little more than six
weeks ago, and Showtime announced this week it wouldn't be "moving forward"
with a second season.

"Showtime can confirm that the anthology series 'The First Lady' will not be
moving forward with another season," a spokesperson told Variety in a piece
published Monday.

'The First Lady' Canceled at Showtime After One Season
https://t.co/UjxtL6s7Ky

-- Variety (@Variety) August 2, 2022

"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."

The show was about the story of three former first ladies -- Eleanor
Roosevelt, played by Gillian Anderson, Betty Ford, played by actress Michelle
Pfeiffer, and Michelle Obama, played by Viola Davis.

The series told the first ladies' stories with cuts between their different
eras in the White House. Variety's chief television critic Caroline Framke
noted this format of squeezing their stories "together doesn't just make for
confusing television, but does them all a disservice in the process."

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave show a score of 41%, with several accusing
the series of failing to have "compelling narratives" for the leads. One
critic for The Atlantic, Shirly Li, wrote that "The First Lady is a barely
thematically connected and carelessly staged summary of three fascinating
figures. All of them deserved better."

The New Yorker wrote that, "The Showtime miniseries, starring Viola Davis,
Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson, manages to make life as a White
House wife seem both cosmic and forgettable."

Audiences appeared to struggle with the story-telling structure, too, but
more so with the way Obama was portrayed, giving the series a 58%.

Several wrote about how upsetting they found Obama's character. "Really upset
with Michelle Obama character played by Viola Davis I've never seen Michelle
look so strange with the awful eyebrows and wiggly mounts?" one person wrote.

Viola Davis on playing Michelle Obama in #TheFirstLady:

"There's a lot of fear that I messed up my portrayal. I'm mostly
terrified about what she will think. I don't want to insult her &
have her calling me. I gotta make the sister look good. I just hope
that it lands with her." pic.twitter.com/wVaZJx7lQL

-- Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) April 17, 2022

Another wrote that they had a problem with the "switching back and forth" in
the timeline and wrote that "I would have preferred watching more of a single
timeline. In fact, 3 separate series, starting with Eleanor, then Betty, and
lastly Michelle would have been better. Viola Davis always pursing her lips
was extremely distracting."

"I really enjoy this series," a third shared. "My favorites are Gillian
Anderson and Michelle Pfeiffer's portrayals. Viola Davis's portrayal annoys
me because she purses her lips constantly along with odd facial expressions
that I don't ever recall Michelle Obama ever doing."

--
Let's go Brandon!