Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground is transitioning to an independent operation after eight years at Netflix.
Barack Obama shared the news at an event Saturday in Philadelphia featuring leaders in media, sports and entertainment as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Barack and Michelle Obama spoke in separate episodes about their work with Higher Ground.
The former president said that after eight years of working exclusively with Netflix and being “extremely grateful for the launch that happened,” the Obamas are “now in the process of transitioning to a more independent system.” [company] We can work with a range of different studios.
Hollywood Reporter I have reached out to a Higher Ground representative for comment.
The Obamas signed a production deal with Netflix in 2018. In 2024, Higher Ground and Netflix extended their partnership, with Higher Ground moving to a multi-year first-look deal for all of its film and television projects.
Higher Ground’s recent projects with Netflix include Oscar-nominated films Rustin, American Symphony and Kreb camp The Oscar-winning and Emmy Award-winning film American factory As well as the Well Forty series Bodkin And Sam Esmail’s apocalyptic thriller Leave the world behind.
More recently, Higher Ground has been lining up projects outside of Netflix, including an HBO comedy series Larry’s life and the pursuit of unhappiness, From creators Larry David and Jeff Schiffer, it premieres in June. The project was announced last month at SXSW during a panel discussion with David and Schiffer.
Saturday’s event in Philadelphia also featured Joe and Dr. Jill Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush, as well as Nicole Kidman, Tina Fey, Colin Jost, Garth Brooks, Tom Brady, Ted Danson, Kate McKinnon, Jason Kelsey, Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb.
Abby White contributed to this report.
