Showtime’s anthology series, The First Lady, has added an additional eight to complete its full cast. According to Deadline, Aya Cash (The Boys, You’re The Worst), Jake Picking (Hollywood, Chasing Life), Patrice Johnson Chevannes (Undertow, Chambers), Leslie Rodrigues Kritzer (The Other Woman, Legally Blonde: The Musical), Thomas E. Sullivan (Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D., The Mandalorian), Marc Hills (Snatchers, Elephant Department), Ben Cook (Paterno, West Side Story), and Cayden Boyd (Mystic River, X-Men The Last Stand) have all joined as supporting cast in the historical series. Created by Aaron Cooley (Best. Worst. Weekend. Ever., Trespass), The First Lady examines the United States’ highest level of leadership through the lens of the wives within the White House.
According to Deadline, Boyd, Hills, and Cook will portray Gerald and Betty Ford’s three sons Michael, Jack, and Steve Ford, respectively. Picking has been cast as young Jerry Ford. They all join Aaron Ekhart (Thank You For Smoking, The Dark Knight) as older Gerald, Michelle Pfeiffer (White Oleander, French Exit) as Betty, and Dakota Fanning (The Alienist, Man on Fire) as the Fords’ daughter, Susan Elizabeth.
Cash will portray Betty Ford’s press secretary, Esther Liebowitz, via Deadline. Chevannes will play the family’s longtime nanny and confidant, Clara Powell. Both women would be pillars of support for Betty at different moments in her life. Finally, two characters from Betty’s past have been cast. Sullivan will play Bill Warren, her first husband; and Kritzer is Martha Graham, an influential dance instructor.
According to Deadline, the first season will explore three separate administrations: Ford, Roosevelt, and Obama. Gillian Anderson has been cast as Eleanor Roosevelt and series executive producer, Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Doubt), will play Michelle Obama. Davis is joined by co-stars Lexi Underwood (Little Fires Everywhere) and O-T Fagbenle (Black Widow, The Five) who will portray Malia Obama and Barack Obama.
Susanne Bier (Bird Box, In a Better World) will direct and serve as an executive producer, according to Deadline. The series is produced through Showtime and Lionsgate TV.