“In four years I don’t want to look back and think, ‘What did I become living in that house?'” a weary Viola Davis explains in a new trailer for “The First Lady.” The Showtime anthology series reframes American leadership by focusing on First Ladies, with Davis starring as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford, and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt.

The spot sees the trio sounding off on the overwhelming pressure to conform to popular expectations of what a First Lady should be, squaring off against their husbands, and standing up for themselves. “They want to turn me into a Black Martha Stewart? I will pick my team, choose my causes,” Obama emphasizes. While Ford realizes that the First Lady “has to be a special kind of woman,” she’s determined to set boundaries. “I’ll be here for you, but I’m going to be myself,” she tells her husband. Roosevelt understands that people want her to “keep [her] mouth shut,” but as she reminds President Roosevelt, “You are the husband of a wife who has a mind and a life of her own.”

Davis won an Oscar for her role in “Fences” and received nods for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “The Help,” and “Doubt.” She took home an Emmy for her starring role in “How to Get Away with Murder.”

A three-time Oscar nominee, Pfeiffer has been recognized for her work in “Love Field,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys,” and “Dangerous Liaisons.” She received an Emmy nom for “The Wizard of Lies.”

Anderson won an Emmy last year for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher on “The Crown.” The “Sex Education” actress has also been nominated for her roles in “Bleak House” and “The X-Files.”

“The First Lady” premieres April 17. Cathy Schulman, whose producing credits include “The Edge of Seventeen,” “Dark Places,” and “Crash,” serves as showrunner. Oscar and Emmy winner Susanne Bier, who recently worked on HBO murder mystery “The Undoing,” directed every episode of the show’s debut season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j36nGWGC5FI&feature=emb_title