Showtime has cancelled it’s anthology series “The First Lady” after just one season. The series, which made its Showtime debut in April, focused on the private and public lives of US First Ladies throughout American history. The First Lady won’t be renewed by Showtime for a second season, despite the demand from viewers for additional episodes of the anthology series. A little more than six weeks after the star-studded show’s Season 1 finale aired on the network, the decision was made not to continue it.
A Showtime representative confirmed that Season 2 of the anthology series will not be produced, as first reported by Deadline. The series, which was set in the East Wing of the White House, focused on America’s charismatic, complex, and dynamic first ladies. The first season focused on Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama, three of the most notable first ladies in recent memory, offering an inside look at their private lives.
The all-star cast included Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gillian Anderson as Ford, and Gillian Anderson as Roosevelt. Davis was also one of the series’ executive producers. The First Lady, which featured a number of other well-known performers portraying other positions from American history, was co-produced by Showtime and Lionsgate TV. Aaron Eckhart played Gerald Ford, O-T Fagbenle played Barack Obama, and Kiefer Sutherland played Franklin D. Roosevelt, all of whom were very well-known husbands and past presidents of state. In addition, the cast featured Dakota Fanning as Susan Elizabeth Ford, Lily Rabe as Lorena Hickok, a First Lady Roosevelt’s lover and American journalist, and Regina Taylor as Marian Robinson, the First Lady Obama’s mother.
Susanna Bier, who also acted as one of the executive producers, directed the anthology series. The 10-episode series is produced by Jeff Gaspin’s Gaspin Media, Oscar winner Cathy Schulman’s Welle Entertainment, and writers Aaron Cooley, Davis, and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions. Along with Davis and Tennon through their JuVee Productions, Schulman through Welle Entertainment, Gaspin through Gaspin Media, and Brad Kaplan through Link Entertainment, Cooley also served as executive producer. The series’ executive producers included Alyson Feltes, Andrew Wang, and Pavlina Hatoupis.