Michelle Pfeiffer to play Betty Ford in Showtime series ‘The First Lady

Season one will feature the life stories of Eleanor Roosevelt, Ford and Obama.Michelle Pfeiffer and Susanne Bier have joined the brilliant and incomparable Viola Davis to bring the remarkable stories of these women into urgent, engrossing and long overdue focus, said Amy Israel, executive vp scripted programming at Showtime.

Actor Michelle Pfeiffer has been roped in to play the role of Betty Ford, wife of President Gerald Ford, in Showtime's upcoming series ''The First Lady''.

The show, formerly known as "First Ladies'', also features actor Viola Davis as Michelle Obama. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Emmy winner Susanne Bier has come on board to direct the series. The episodes will focus on the personal and political lives of First Ladies from throughout the history of the US. Season one will feature the life stories of Eleanor Roosevelt, Ford and Obama.

''Michelle Pfeiffer and Susanne Bier have joined the brilliant and incomparable Viola Davis to bring the remarkable stories of these women into urgent, engrossing and long overdue focus,'' said Amy Israel, executive vp scripted programming at Showtime. ''Michelle brings authenticity, vulnerability and complexity to all her roles, and Susanne is a visionary director who commands the screen with fierce honesty and a singular visual style. With these formidable artists in front of and behind the camera, we couldn't be more thrilled, especially at this unique moment in time for our nation, about the powerful promise of The First Lady,'' she added. Novelist Aaron Cooley is writing the series and will also serve as the executive producer along with Cathy Schulman, Davis and Julius Tennon of JuVee Productions, Andrew Wang, Jeff Gaspin and Brad Kaplan.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)