The Obamas Have Declared Independence From Netflix
After eight years and multiple Oscar wins, Higher Ground is ready to work with everybody.
Eight years is a long time to work with anyone. For Barack and Michelle Obama, it was long enough to build one of the most respected production banners in Hollywood. Now they are ready to do it on their own terms.
The former first couple confirmed this weekend that their production company, Higher Ground, will go independent once its current first-look deal with Netflix expires later this year. Barack Obama broke the news himself at HistoryTalks, a History Channel event held in Philadelphia to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, telling the crowd that Higher Ground is “in the process now of transitioning to a more independent company where we can work with a bunch of different studios.”
That is not a small statement. When the Obamas first signed with Netflix back in 2018, it was one of the most talked-about deals in the industry. The streaming era was still relatively young, Netflix was writing enormous checks to lock up talent exclusively, and landing Barack and Michelle Obama felt like a cultural moment as much as a business one. The company delivered. Higher Ground’s projects with Netflix include the Oscar-winning and Emmy-winning film American Factory, as well as Oscar-nominated films Rustin, American Symphony and Crip Camp, along with the Will Forte series Bodkin and Sam Esmail’s apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind. That is a track record most production companies would not walk away from.
But the industry has changed. Several major production companies have moved toward non-exclusive arrangements as the streaming industry matures and studios compete more selectively for content. The exclusive first-look deal that defined the 2018 to 2024 era is no longer the gold standard it once was, and Higher Ground is clearly reading the room.
The transition is already in motion. Higher Ground has been developing projects for other platforms, including the HBO sketch comedy series Life, Larry, and The Pursuit of Unhappiness, created by Larry David and Jeff Schaffer, which was announced at SXSW in March 2026 and is set to premiere in June. That is not a company waiting around for a deal to expire. That is a company that has already started building its next chapter.
Netflix confirmed that existing Higher Ground projects already in development will continue to completion under the current arrangement, with the first-look deal expected to expire later in 2026.
The setting for the announcement was not lost on anyone paying attention. The Philadelphia event drew former presidents Joe Biden and George W. Bush, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and cultural figures including Nicole Kidman, Tina Fey, Tom Brady and Jason Kelce. Barack and Michelle Obama spoke on separate panels. The fact that Obama chose that particular stage to announce this particular news says something about how seriously they are taking this next move.
Higher Ground going independent is not a retreat. It is an expansion. And Hollywood should be paying attention.
— REAVES // @wildreaves