Susanne Bier On Giving Us an Intimate History Lesson for Showtime’s ‘The First Lady’

Showtime’s The First Lady pulls back the curtain on the personal lives of some of the most prolific and beloved figures to ever enter The White House.  We know the speeches and the public appearances, but this show is more interested in the intimate moments that lead up to those iconic memories. For Academy Award and Emmy Award winning director, Susanne Bier, she knew of some American milestones, but a lot of the stories within the limited series surprised her.

The First Lady centers on Michelle Obama, Betty Ford, and Eleanor Roosevelt, and the series makes an interesting choice to show these women were reluctant to take on their roles before they changed their residence to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. With three distinct time periods, I was curious if Bier noticed a different rhythm and pacing between the the eras.

“We figured that we needed to go for the similarities and focus on the common ground. Once we started filming, there was a clear different in timing. If you look at different recordings, they had very different timing and different energy. As individuals, their speech patterns and the way they moved were clearly different, but we didn’t want the segments to be stylistically different. It did become very obvious in the edit. When you went from one section to the other, it was fascinating.”

A lot of Bier’s work has explored the dynamics of family, but that takes an even broader stage in the limited series. Bier’s last directorial effort for television, The Undoing, saw an affluent family unraveling after a highly publicized murder. The First Lady is another example of how Bier is interested in peeling back the layers of family. We see how Barack Obama is influenced to publicly change his stance on Marriage Equality after a discussion with his daughters, Malia and Sasha.

“The main focus of the show was ‘if the walls could speak.’ When there are no official guests or no press photographers, what is happening? Why have those moments become so impactful for not just American history, but for world history. That was the essence of the series. I have, in my work, I have been fascinated by families. Our relationship with our family is usually who we are–whether it’s a warm relationship or a cold relationship. It defines very much who we are. These women were the core of their families so it not only informs who their family is but also the power structure in any given moment in time within the 110 years of our show. That is undeniably fascinating to me.”

The love story between Eleanor and Lorena Hickok was particularly surprising to Bier, and she was taken aback by the amount of sadness that the first lady might have felt.

“The Eleanor story…I had no idea. I knew about her from the UN and I knew she had written so many books. I didn’t know she was so vulnerable on the inside or that she felt ugly or unattractive. I had no idea that she was either bisexual or gay, and her and her husband had such a modern relationship. At the time, there was a lot of sorrow, but they were very generous with each other. I am excited for the world to get to see this.”

In of the the most emotional scenes in the Roosevelt chapter, Eleanor and Lorena begin to drift apart, and the circumstances surrounding their brilliance becomes tragically real. Even if they could live openly, the world would not be ready.

“You feel there is a profound and deep connection, but you also feel sad that they can’t sustain it. A real tragedy is that they are obligated to something that is much bigger than themselves. Eleanor doesn’t seem capable to change her own trajectory from her own loneliness, and she is very dutiful and very much about changing the world. She was so devout to helping those who needed her whether it be women’s causes or race issues or poor people. In doing those things, she loses out on her own personal happiness, and we, as an audience, feel that very deeply.”

In the Michelle Obama section, some of the best moments come between Michelle and Barack sparring at home with one another. Viola Davis and O-T Fagbenle are fantastic together. As the 2016 election looms, Democrat nominee, Hillary Clinton, needs Michelle’s support when Donald Trump becomes a true contender to win. They share one of the most intimate exchanges of the entire series. One is a former First Lady and the other is about to step down.

“Our understanding is that Michelle Obama felt compelled to fight for Hillary that, firstly, Trump was a real contender. When that awful tape came out, it was transgressing on a lot, and I think, up until that point, Michelle thought there was some dignity left in politics. She also felt that Hillary hurt her and her husband prior to that, and my understanding is that she is someone who is not comfortable with dishonesty. She is not comfortable with playing games. In order for her to fight for Hillary, she needed to clear the air and say what was needed to be said in order to, figuratively, hold hands in the fight. It’s about a moment about two powerful, charismatic, strong-willed women being on their own and being able to say what they can’t say with anyone else in the room.”

A lot of audiences have been responding to Michelle Pfeiffer’s portrayal of Betty Ford since we know the least of these three women. Not only do we learn about Ford’s cancer diagnosis, but we connect her loneliness all the way back to when she was a dancer. In the scenes where Ford is told that she can mix alcohol and painkillers, you want to reach out and slap the doctors in charge. Bier didn’t think it was a story of addiction as much as it was a tale of self-redemption.

“The thing about Betty Ford is that there are so many things we don’t know about her. Her story was a beautifully wrapped gift, especially because we had Michelle Pfeiffer. She is stunningly beautiful woman, and a gorgeous actress. She performs with such crazy ease and elegance. Even if it’s not easy, she makes it gives us such drive and some humor. Betty Ford was a revelation, and I had no idea that she was one of the first people to come out against breast cancer. I had no clue. I knew about the Betty Ford Clinic, but I didn’t know how personal it was. I don’t think her story is solely about addiction, but I do think that having a first lady who has dealt with issues that are still so stigmatized. She did it openly and candidly and in a way where she also saved many lives by talking about it. You have so many people looking at her and thinking, ‘She went through this…I can go through this.”

The First Lady’s first season concludes on June 19.