The upcoming Showtime anthology series, The First Lady, has announced another addition to its star-studded cast in the form of actor Kiefer Sutherland (Designated Survivor) as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, according to Deadline. The series is created by writer Aaron Cooley (Best. Worst. Weekend. Ever) and began its filming and production in February 2021. Cooley wrote many of the series episodes and will serve as an executive producer alongside Jeff Gaspin (Project Runway), Brad Kaplan (Mr. Church), Andrew Wang (The Lying Game), Viola Davis (The Help), Cathy Schulman (Crash, Angela’s Eyes), Julius Tennon (Dazed and Confused), Susanne Bier (After the Wedding, Bird Box). Bier has also boarded the series as the director while Schulman will serve as the Showtime original’s showrunner.
The First Lady will serve as an anthology series as episodes will bounce around different decades of American history through the lens of the Oval Office and in particular the First Lady of the United States. Sutherland joins an extensive cast that includes Davis as Michelle Obama, O.T. Fabenle (Maxxx) as President Barack Obama, Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds) as Susan Ford, Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) as President Gerald Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface) as Betty Ford, Rhys Wakefield (True Detective) as Vice President Dick Cheney, and Gillian Anderson (Sex Education) as Eleanor Roosevelt. Additional cast includes Regina Taylor (I’ll Fly Away), Judy Greer (Arrested Development), and Aya Cash (The Boys). Currently, The First Lady has not announced a premiere date.
Sutherland’s addition to the cast comes with a return to the small screen. The actor has an extensive list of film credits, but has most recently been recognized via television roles in network dramas and action series. Sutherland appeared in 192 episodes as Jack Bauer in the hit series 24, reboot series 24: Live Another Day, and its subsequent television film 24: Redemption. He has also held main cast roles on Touch, The Fugitive, and Designated Survivor.