American entertainment company Netflix has inked a multiyear deal with the Obamas for original programming - but the content from the former first couple will not have any political bias, according to the company chief content officer Ted Sarandos.
“This is not The Obama Network,” said Sarandos, speaking Tuesday at the Paley Center for Media in New York. “There’s no political slant to the programming.”
According to Variety, Sarandos said Netflix’s deal with Higher Ground Productions, the production shingle formed by Barack and Michelle Obama, is for entertainment programming, including scripted films and TV shows as well as unscripted lifestyle content and docu-series. Netflix officially announced the deal last week.
The Obamas were forming Higher Ground Productions as they were leaving the White House, according to Sarandos, who added, “I didn’t want to see them go anywhere else because I think they’ll be great at it.”
Sarandos in particular has a close relationship with the Obamas. His wife, Nicole Avant, served as US ambassador to the Bahamas in President Obama’s first term in office.
Last week Obama spoke publicly about his deal with Netflix, which he said will focus on identifying and promoting people with interesting and important stories to tell that can help everyone around the world better understand each other.
“I would not have been president had I not learned very early on in my professional career the importance of stories,” Obama said.
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