Barack and Michelle Obama's first scripted Netflix show has cast comedian Will Forte in a leading role. The Obamas' production company, Higher Ground, struck up a multi-year Netflix deal to produce scripted and unscripted projects that would lift up diverse voices in the entertainment industry. Most of their output before now has focused on animated projects and documentaries, including the Academy Award-winning American Factory.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new show is called Bodkin and is a darkly comedic thriller about a motley crew of podcasters who set out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in an idyllic, coastal Irish town. Once they start digging for the truth, they uncover something bigger and weirder than they ever imagined. Forte plays American podcaster Gilbert Power, who's charming, enthusiastic, and has an inviting demeanor that endears him to strangers, and perhaps hides something darker beneath the surface. Gilbert returns to Bodkin to discover his ancestral roots and preoccupy himself with finding his next big story.
Bearing a superficial resemblance to Only Murders in the Building, another comedic show about a group of podcasters solving a true-crime mystery, Bodkin promises a darker tone. The seven-episode limited series is set to be directed by Nash Edgerton (Spider, Mr. Inbetween). Jez Scharf (Mister Biscuits) and Alec Metcalf (Sharp Objects) will serve as showrunners on Bodkin. Next up for the Obamas and their Netflix deal comes Rustin, a biopic of civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, and an untitled scripted comedy series from the creator of The Upshaws.
Source: THR