Fans of the recent film Southside With You, about Barack and Michelle Obama’s first date, will have lots more presidential hook-ups to enjoy over the next few years. Today, the Lifetime television network announced their plans for a series of films depicting the initial encounters of other First Couples.
“Clearly, the Obamas’ first date has struck a chord with the public,” said Lifetime spokesperson Lydia Fauxnom in announcing the network’s plans. “We feel that there’s much more romance and drama to be mined from the stories of other presidential first dates, too.”
Lifetime plans to produce ten films in the series, dramatizing the first dates of Bill & Hillary Clinton, Gerald & Betty Ford and Dwight & Mamie Eisenhower, among others. Each film will be completely different, but one thing they will have in common is star power. While Southside With You stars a pair of relative unknowns as the Obamas, a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts has enabled Lifetime to sign up some of Hollywood’s biggest stars for their film series.
The first film in the series is set to be Arkansas Kegger With You, the story of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s first date. The producers have landed big-screen star Seth Rogan to play the former president. “He’s probably a bit old for the role, but we feel that Seth has the right combination of down-home charisma, chubby physique and iron lungs that the part calls for,” said Fauxnom. “After all, Bill Clinton has a bong in his hands for almost three-quarters of the movie!”
The challenging role of Hillary is set to be tackled by Miley Cyrus, taking a break from her terrible music and drug-induced fashion choices. “Miley’s committed to bringing the lighter, sexier, more druggy side of Hillary to the screen,” claimed Fauxnom. “She’s even going to be showing off a set of custom-designed early-70s style pasties!”
Fauxnom stressed that not every film will depict a traditional date, since many of the political couples didn’t have a true “first date,” per se. For example, the Clintons first got together at a fraternity party, while Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson met while betting on rival roosters at a West Texas cockfight.
After the Clintons, Lifetime plans to tackle the relationship between Richard & Pat Nixon in a film titled Red-Baiting With You. The film will focus on the couple’s intriguing 1948 double date with Roy Cohn and J. Edgar Hoover. Game of Throne‘s Kit Harrington has been signed to play Tricky Dick, while the role of Pat will be played by Scarlett Johansson. “Kit’s definitely got the rugged good looks of a young Nixon, and Scarlett’s long been considered a dead ringer for Pat,” enthused Fauxnom.
Whether the Harrington/Johanson pairing can generate the sparks of the real-life Nixons is open to debate. The Nixons were considered the height of glamour and beauty, with smoldering photos of the couple steaming up the pages of 60s magazines like Life and Country Nudist. Producers have their fingers crossed that Harrington and Johanson can generate the same kind of sexually-charged charisma.
Other upcoming titles include My Daddy’s Big Ol’ Ranch With You, starring Ryan Gosling and Alicia Vikander as George W. and Laura Bush, and Smoke Break With You, with Zac Efron and Chloe Grace Moritz tackling the story of Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s first encounter. In a separate press briefing, the Lifetime Lite network announced that they’re starting production on R. Kelly Concert With You, the story of Vice President Joe Biden’s first date with his wife, pop singer Chaka Khan. If it’s a hit, you can be sure that a string of VP-related love stories isn’t far off!
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