Critic Reviews

The First Lady is a fascinating series that does a great job at boiling down the important parts of three influential First Ladies and reintroducing them into the national dialogue (or, in the case of Michelle Obama, reminding us why we love her) — but I wanted more from each story overall. The first season of this purported anthology series manages to be perfectly emblematic of the saying that goes, “Always leave them wanting more.”

The First lady is like a trio of fascinating biopics in one. [25 Apr - 8 May 2022, p.4]

There are moments when “The First Lady” is inspirational and moving; how could you not tell these stories without hitting some high notes? Still, given the credentials and talents of the behind-the-scenes artists and the three leads, this feels mostly like a missed opportunity to do something special—something worthy of Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama, three truly great Americans.

So many individual scenes are engrossing and superbly acted, but they're often undercut by the time jumping and editing. There's never quite enough from any one first lady, which leaves a sense of disappointment. It's unfortunately a show that is lesser than the sum of its Emmy- and Oscar-winning parts.

Perhaps it’s because Betty Ford’s story is the least known among the three that her scenes are the most compelling. ... Obvious dental prosthetics and an unfortunately mannered turn by Anderson — though less strained than her effortful pantomime of Margaret Thatcher on “The Crown” — distract from a rewriting of Eleanor Roosevelt that’s fairly bold, at least for a mainstream TV series. ... Michelle Obama’s time in the White House simply needs more time for it to be satisfyingly narrativized; she has decades yet to finish her story.

A well-meaning but ponderous effort that wastes a trio of extraordinary actresses with its dull and cursory storytelling.

For those still binging West Wing seasons, The First Lady might scratch a Sorkinish itch for patriotic pomp and liberal sound bites, but it’s too diffuse and self-satisfied to really challenge a viewer.

The First Lady seeks to do little but superficially celebrate its subjects. Consequently—and ironically—it undermines each woman’s individuality, muddying the role it set out to clarify and repeating the history it’s trying to correct.

“The First Lady” fails because it’s telling us stories that we already know in a fairly surface-level fashion. While it’s certainly commendable that the show shines its light on the forgotten struggles of these three notable women, it’s almost a shame that the show chose to highlight first ladies whose stories have already been so vigorously told.

The problem is many of the series’ themes are swathed in overt metaphors that have all the grace of a sledgehammer. There are no organic moments, everything connects back to an element from these women’s pasts.