Michelle Pfeiffer to Play Betty Ford, Join Viola Davis in Showtime's First Lady

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The First Lady
Showtime
9/8c
SUNDAY: The political drama takes a step back in time to reveal the path to the White House for Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Michelle Obama (Viola Davis)—and, of course, their ambitious husbands. Flashbacks reveal who they were before the glare of the spotlight formed their public identity.

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WHAT TO WATCH

The First Lady
S1.E4 * Cracked Pot
May 8, 2022
Franklin's marital indiscretions push Eleanor to socialize with more political women. A stubborn shoulder injury begins Betty's troubled history with pain medication. Michelle vows to hold Chicago's inadequate healthcare system to task.

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WHAT TO WATCH

The First Lady
S1.E5 * See Saw
May 15, 2022
Eleanor holds the White House's first all-female press conference and grows closer to journalist Lorena Hickock. Betty publicly announces her breast cancer diagnosis. Michelle prompts new legislation with her healthy school lunch program.

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The First Lady
Showtime
9/8c
SUNDAY: Watergate also looms large in the busy fifth episode of Showtime’s The First Lady when Betty Ford (the brilliant Michelle Pfeiffer) flips out after husband President Gerald Ford (Aaron Eckhart) pardons Nixon, which she rightly sees as political suicide. “Do you realize how this makes our family look?” she rants. Betty later makes headlines when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. In other eras, Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson) breaks ground by holding a press conference for women reporters only, and Michelle Obama (Viola Davis) joins her daughters in pressing husband Barack (O-T Fagbenle) on the gay-marriage issue.

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WHAT TO WATCH

The First Lady
S1.E6 * Shout Out
May 22, 2022
Eleanor, Betty and Michelle's daring stances put them in the spotlight.

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WORTH WATCHING: D.C. Drama in ‘First Lady’

"Watergate, the ERA and same-sex marriage are among the political hot buttons tapped in new episodes of Gaslit and The First Lady."

The First Lady
Showtime
9/8c
SUNDAY: These first ladies of different eras really know how to stir things up. For Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson), that means continuing her relationship with reporter Lorena Hickok (Lily Rabe) even while the FBI shadows her as “a matter of national security.” In the 1970s, Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) rallies for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which administration hacks see as a liability, and in more recent times, Michelle Obama (Viola Davis) pressures her husband to put politics aside and do what’s right what it comes to supporting same-sex marriage.

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WHAT TO WATCH

The First Lady
S1.E7 * Nadir
May 29, 2022
Eleanor doubles down on her efforts to confront racism. Betty helps Jerry secure the Republican nomination while her problems with addiction worsen. Michelle grieves after recent gun violence tragedies and advocates for legislative action.

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What To Watch:

The First Lady
Big challenges: racism for Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson); Betty Ford’s (Michelle Pfeiffer) substance abuse; and gun violence for Michelle Obama (Viola Davis).
Showtime  9/8c

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WORTH WATCHING

The First Lady
Showtime
9/8c
SUNDAY: More D.C. drama in this triptych about historic presidential spouses, as Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson) confronts racism when Black opera star Marian Anderson is barred from performing at Constitution Hall—but how to rationalize the Black servants in her own White House? In more modern times, Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) enjoys her public popularity during campaign season, though her drinking is becoming a liability, and the issue of gun violence becomes personal for Michelle Obama (Viola Davis).

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June 5, 2022
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09:00PM Showtime

The First Lady Michelle speaks out about race despite Barack’s hesitations; Eleanor forces Franklin’s hand in helping Jewish refugees escape Nazi Germany; While Jerry spends his retirement on the road, Betty seeks out new party companions at home.

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WHAT TO WATCH

The First Lady
S1.E8 * Punch Perfect
Jun 5, 2022
Eleanor forces Franklin’s hand in assisting Jewish refugees escape Nazi Germany. Betty seeks out new party companions at home while Jerry spends his retirement on the road. Despite Barack’s hesitations, Michelle speaks out about race.

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WHAT TO WATCH

The First Lady
S1.E9 * Rift
Jun 12, 2022
Eleanor rallies the country as the U.S. enters WW II. After Betty's addiction spirals, Jerry and her family intervene. Michelle joins Hillary Clinton on the 2016 presidential campaign trail to advocate for the dignity of American women.

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The First Lady
Showtime
9/8c
SUNDAY: The penultimate chapter of the three-in-one biographical series goes to war—Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson) helping FDR (Kiefer Sutherland) in their public partnership as the nation enters WWII—and political battle, as Michelle Obama (Viola Davis) consents to help Hillary Clinton (the ever-reliable Kate Burton) in her presidential campaign. For Betty Ford (the brilliant Michelle Pfeiffer), it’s a much more private conflict, when her family tries to get her to face her alcoholism with a painful intervention.

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WHAT TO WATCH

The First Lady
S1.E10 * Victory Dance
Jun 19, 2022
Franklin gifts Eleanor the charter for the League of Nations. After rehab, Betty vows to help others with addiction problems. Barack and Michelle prepare to leave the White House, determined to continue making a difference in the world. Season finale.

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WORTH WATCHING: ..., ‘First Lady’ Finale, ...

The First Lady
Showtime
SEASON FINALE
9/8c
SUNDAY: The three-tiered biographical drama ends on parallel threads of uplift after adversity. Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson) finds renewed purpose after the untimely death of FDR — House’s Robert Sean Leonard has a brief cameo as his successor, Harry Truman — while decades later, an in-recovery Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) breaks ground on the Betty Ford Center. For Michelle Obama (Viola Davis), publishing a successful memoir takes some of the sting out of the results of the 2016 election.