Netflix: Barack & Michelle Obama in Talks to Produce Shows

Barack and Michelle Obama – former president and first lady of the U.S. – are in talks to produce and possibly host shows for Netflix. As hard as it may be to believe sometimes, time really does fly, and it's been over a year since the Obama family vacated the White House. Since the exit of Barack Obama as commander-in-chief – and the subsequent ascendancy of Donald Trump to that same job – the Obamas have been fairly quiet on the public stage, seemingly choosing to stay out of the fray. This is fairly common for former presidents and first families to do, so as to let the new administration govern without direct opposition from the previous one.

It looks like the Obamas have reached the point where they think they should return to the spotlight though, which is of course sure to annoy their detractors. On the other hand, Barack and Michelle both remain very popular personally, and there are surely many people eager to see them weigh in on current events. That said, it seems fair to say that very few would have expected the Obamas to get into the TV business.

According to The New York Times though, that's exactly what the former POTUS and FLOTUS plan to do. Both Barack and Michelle are reportedly in talks with Netflix to produce and potentially host original shows for the streaming giant. While a deal is not yet finalized, negotiations between the Obamas and Netflix are said to be in the advanced stages.

Contrary to what one might expect in these politically charged and divided times, the programs potentially coming from a deal with the Obamas are not planned to be direct responses to the Trump administration or to Republican critics of the former president and his family. Instead, Barack and Michelle want to highlight inspirational stories, and create programming designed to uplift viewers. That may not be quite the pointed political content that some of the Obamas' more dedicated supporters would prefer, but it would at least create a large platform that could potentially be used to speak directly to the American people about important topics.

Those who would prefer to see the Obamas discuss political subjects likely won't be entirely disappointed at least, as another proposed show idea would see Barack and/or Michelle moderating panel discussions about issues that are near and dear to them, or were important to the Obama presidency. Such topics would likely include health care, voting rights, immigration, foreign policy, climate change, and nutrition. It's currently unknown what the former president and first lady stand to be paid if a deal with Netflix goes through, but Apple and Amazon have also reportedly expressed interest in courting the former first couple to create content