The First Lady

I find myself fast-forwarding through the "middle-age Obama" segments: 2 casting errors. Viola Davis makes a terrible Michelle Obama, none of the charisma or charm. Shame as the "Roosevelt" and "Ford" segments are very good.

Viola Davis and Gillian Anderson are doing impersonations more suited for "Saturday Night Live." Michelle Pfeiffer on the other hand humanizes First Lady Betty Ford, an often overlooked historical figure. I happen to agree with critics who've stated that this show would have fared better had the entire spotlight been on Betty Ford.

Michelle Pheiffer is fantastic! This should have been just a series about Betty Ford. Pheiffer plays this with grace, dignity and empathy.

Anderson is fine as Eleanor Roosevelt, I think the dentures were just unnecessary... just too much. We know Eleanor had an overbite but it was distracting.

Now let's talk about Viola Davis who is skit performing Michelle Obama as an SNL joke. Absolutely ridiculous with the crazy mouth acting and for those of us who like Ms. Obama, why did Viola Davis portray her this way? It's completely hysterically awful and side splittingly funny. Just horrible😂

Pfeiffer gives one of the best performances of her career as Betty Ford. Anderson gives the intelligent, detailed performance you'd expect from her as Eleanor Roosevelt, and she and Kiefer Sutherland both nail the Roosevelts' vocal musicality.

Sadly, Viola Davis is simply miscast as Michelle Obama, missing her breezy charm and charisma that so many other actresses could have captured. She attempts to make up for this by constantly pursing her lips and overdoing Obama's lumbering gait. It doesn't work.

On episode 8 and must note the series gets better as it goes on. Michelle Pfeiffer exemplifies what great acting is all about. Loved her as Betty Ford. Gillian Anderson is also wonderful as Eleanor. I sually love Viola Davis but think she was miscast in this. She seems too old for the part. Barack who is actually 3 yrs older than Michelle looks 15 yrs younger in the series. Whoever did Viola's makeup in the White House Years should be fired. They heavy makeup ages her and the overdone eyes make her look like a hooker (or in modern day terms...a sex worker) In real life, Michelle Obama's makeup was always understated. Also, the character is not as warm and empathetic as the Michelle Obama we have all come to love.