See Viola Davis Transform Into Michelle Obama in Compelling First Lady Trailer

You may have to do a double-take for this one. On Feb. 17, Showtime released the first trailer for its upcoming series, The First Lady, starring Viola Davis as Michelle Obama. Watch it here!

By Jillian Fabiano Feb 18, 2022 12:11 AMTags
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The First Ladies have officially entered the White House.

On Feb. 17, Showtime released the first trailer for its upcoming series, The First Lady, which stars Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt. The anthology drama, which premieres April 17 on Showtime, follows the three First Ladies as they undertake the role of being the most important lady in the land.

The series also stars O-T Fagbenle as Barack Obama, Kiefer Sutherland as Franklin D. RooseveltAaron Eckhard as Gerald Ford and Dakota Fanning as Susan Ford.

"In four years, I don't want to look back and think, 'What did I become living in that house?'" Michelle says in the trailer. 

"I can't have you backseat driving," Obama adds.

From her hair to her mannerisms and even her iconic Michelle Smith portrait dress, Viola makes an uncanny First Lady. But not only is Viola's transformation cause for a double-take, but she also mastered Michelle's voice. "I will pick my team, choose my causes. Understood?" she says in the clip. 

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The trailer shows the three women as they try to navigate their role in the White House, and the struggles that they each face within it. 

"I'll be here for you," Betty Ford tells her husband in the video. "But I'm going to be myself."

"They can kick me out, but they can't make me somebody I'm not," she adds later on. 

And Eleanor speaks her mind as well. 

"Don't push me off, I am your wife not one of your girlfriends," she says to Franklin. "You are the husband of a wife that has a mind and a life of her own." You tell ‘em, Eleanor.

Watch these three women revolutionize the role of the First Lady when the series premieres April 17 on Showtime. 

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