Reese Witherspoon and Robin Wright are joining forces. Deadline reports that Witherspoon’s production company, Pacific Standard, and “Spotlight” producer Anonymous Content are collaborating on a TV series based on “First Women: The Grace & Power Of America’s Modern First Ladies,” Kate Andersen Brower’s bestselling nonfiction book. Wright has signed on to direct the pilot and executive produce the project.
Wright, of course, plays a First Lady on Netflix’s “House of Cards,” a role that’s earned her four Emmy noms and a Golden Globe. She’s directed seven episodes of the series, and serves as an executive producer.
“First Women” is described as “an intimate, news-making look at the true modern power brokers at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: the First Ladies, from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama.” The book hit shelves in April of this year. Brower had a lot of experience to cull from in writing it: She’s a former White House Reporter for Bloomberg News.
There’s been plenty of Oscar buzz surrounding Natalie Portman’s portrayal of an iconic First Lady in “Jackie.” The upcoming drama takes place in the immediate aftermath of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, and sees Portman taking on the role of his grieving widow. The film — and Portman’s performance — suggest that there was much more to the First Lady than meets the eye. “First Women” will no doubt dig beneath the surface of all of the First Ladies it chronicles.
