If you are one of those who were waiting for Showtime’s ‘The First Lady’ to return for another season, we have some bad news for you. The drama series starring Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson in the lead roles won’t be returning for another run and has been canceled by the aforementioned network after just one season. There were a lot of hopes for the series when it first aired in April 2022, but it didn’t receive much love from the critics and the reactions were mixed.
The show portrays the life and family events of three First Ladies of the United States: Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama. David portrayed the role of Michelle Obama while Pfeiffer played Betty Ford. On the other hand, Anderson was seen playing the role of Eleanor Roosevelt. The actors were praised for their performances, but that couldn’t stop Showtime from canceling the series.
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In a statement shared, the network confirmed the news of ‘The First Lady’ ending with Season One and thanked everyone who was associated with the series. The network also praised the creators of the show for their vision and artistry. The statement added, “Showtime can confirm that the anthology series ‘The First Lady’ will not be moving forward with another season. We would like to applaud the artistry and commitment of our showrunner Cathy Schulman, director Susanne Bier, their fellow executive producers, our amazing cast, led by executive producer Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson, and our studio partner Lionsgate for their dedicated work in telling the unique stories of three remarkable leaders.”
The show was panned by critics for the “shallow characterization” and lack of focus. In a shocking turn of events, even Viola Davis received a lot of backlash for her portrayal of Michelle Obama and was considered to be one of the reasons for the show’s failure. As soon as the news of cancellation surfaced online, fans were particularly not happy with the show not getting renewed for Season 2. Some of them admitted that the show could have been better, but it should have been given one more chance to prove itself.
One of the fans of the show wrote, “It’s too bad, but the disjointed nature of the show didn’t really work, and moreover each of these incredible ladies would’ve been fully deserving of their own full show, not just a back and forth minutes in each episode.” Another fan wrote, “This is sad. The show was great but I also didn’t watch it while it aired. I like to binge watch.” Another social media user said, “I was expecting much more than what they gave the first season. The acting was great but the structure of the series was lacking.”
“Should have been a mini-series. Some shows just don’t do well if you have to wait a week before another episode, wrote another user. “This was a wonderful step back & forward in time & the first of its kind from the first lady’s point of reference. How could you not renew?” tweeted another user. “Man this sucks. This show was awesome. All 3 of these actresses deserved Emmy nominations for it. They were all brilliant,” said another one.
The White-House set drama debuted in April 2022 and consisted of 10 episodes that showed various eras of American presidencies. Season 1 of ‘The White Lady’ currently holds a rating of 41% on Rotten Tomatoes. On the other hand, the audience rating on the aforementioned website is a bit better and sits at 58%.
'The First Lady' is available for streaming on Showtime.