Barack & Michelle Obama Are Done Watching Their Work Disappear on Netflix

It’s gotten to the point that my parents have just started texting me to find something on a streaming service for them to watch. Like most human beings, they get hit with paralysis of choice and overwhelmed by how much is out there (got them to watch Game Night, and not sure how that will go over). I don’t blame them, because most streaming services are loaded with whatever they can get their hands on or generate themselves. However, aside from more specific services, there’s never any real rhyme or reason to what they have, so it can be harder to navigate.

Because it’s more difficult to suss out what you may or may not want to watch, you may end up falling back on old favorites. There’s a decent chance you’ll miss whatever new thing is out, also because it will only be moments before said new thing is replaced with another new thing, and so on. I have certainly had instances where I find out about a movie or TV show because the sequel, third season, or spinoff is already on the way. It’s maddening, and just like me, the Obamas are frustrated with it. We’re exactly alike.

Eight years ago, Barack and Michelle Obama signed a first-look deal with Netflix for their production company, Higher Ground. Now, Barack has revealed that their partnership with Netflix will be ending, as they pursue other endeavors. “And we were in partnership with Netflix,” Barack explained at HistoryTalks in Philadelphia this weekend. “We’re in a process now of transitioning to a more independent [future] where we can work with a bunch of different studios.”

I very much remember when the Obamas signed with Netflix, and I’d be lying if I said I could tell you what came out of it before sitting down to write this article. According to Deadline, the partnership resulted in 24 different projects, including the apocalyptic film Leave the World Behind, which starred Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, and Julia freaking Roberts, and I completely forgot that it existed. That doesn’t mean it didn’t do well. It apparently made it into Netflix’s Top Ten (the validity of which I don’t buy, but still), and I am by no means a social barometer.

Still, 24 is a lot, even over eight years, and I’ve maybe heard of one or two of the other things on the list. The landscape is too wide, and hopefully the Obamas can find eyes for their more socially driven projects by working with other studios. The only downside is that now we won’t get to see Barrack’s planned three-episode arc on Tires. Some things just aren’t meant to be.