Malia Obama’s celebrity as the eldest daughter of beloved former president and first lady, Barack and Michelle Obama, may have accelerated her entrance into Hollywood. But her talent as a writer, according to TV show producer and writer Donald Glover, kept her in the building.
Glover, who created the series sensation “Atlanta” and also co-wrote it with his brother Stephen, heaped effusive praise on the former first daughter whom he has hired as part of his writer’s room for the upcoming series, “Hive.”
“She’s just like, an amazingly talented person. She’s really focused, and she’s working really hard,” Glover told Vanity Fair at the “Atlanta” season three premiere.
“I feel like she’s just somebody who’s gonna have really good things coming soon. Her writing style is great.”
Malia Obama, 23, has been slowly erecting her career tent in Tinseltown while simultaneously finishing up her undergraduate degree at Harvard University. Obama got some production assistant work on director Halle Berry’s Extant in 2014 and served in a similar role on HBO’s “Girls” in 2015.
Glover subtly indicated that the series “Hive” will be focused on a “Beyoncé-like figure.” Obama will be joined in the “Hive” writer’s room with Donald Glover’s younger brother, Stephen Glover, who also served as executive producer on “Atlanta.”
“Donald always says perspective is important, and people with different perspectives are important for a writer’s room. And for sure, she definitely has a unique perspective on everything,” said Stephen Glover of Obama. “So we wanted to hear her stories and have her work with us. Listening to her stories and having her involved really gave us a lot of good ideas.”
Stephen Glover joked with Vanity Fair that the show’s creators won’t let Obama off the hook if she presents bad ideas that have to be shot down.
“Well, you know, we just hurt her feelings. We can’t be easy on her just because she’s the [former] president’s daughter,” he said. “Nah, she’s very down to earth, and cool. So, it’s not a problem at all. She has a lot of good ideas. She’s great. She’s just a regular person like everybody else.”
