Higher Ground Productions
Media production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Higher Ground Productions, also known simply as Higher Ground, is an American production company which was founded in 2018 by former United States president Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
| |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founder | |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Services | |
History
In May 2018, the Obamas launched Higher Ground Productions by signing a multi-year deal with Netflix to produce scripted and unscripted film and television projects, with the goal of the company to lift up diverse voices in the entertainment industry.[1] Michelle Obama stated "I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others."[1] In February 2019, Priya Swaminathan, Tonia Davis, and Qadriyyah “Q” Shamsid-Deen joined the company, with Swaminathan and Davis serving as co-heads and Shamsid-Deen serving as a creative executive.[2]
On June 6, 2019, Spotify announced a partnership with Higher Ground to produce Spotify-exclusive podcasts.[3] The first podcast under the partnership, The Michelle Obama Podcast, premiered on July 29, 2020.[4]
The company's first film was American Factory, released in 2019. Netflix released Becoming a documentary following Michelle Obama on her book tour promoting her memoir of the same name.[5]
Higher Ground has multiple projects in development, including a feature film adaptation of Frederick Douglass's biography, a drama series set in the fashion scene of post-WWII New York City, and a scripted anthology series of the New York Times obituary column highlighting deaths of remarkable people not reported.[6]
In June 2022, it was announced that Higher Ground would be ending its partnership with Spotify, as it signed a multi-year, multi-million-dollar deal with Audible.[7]
In March 2025, the company announced that Michelle Obama and her brother Craig Robinson would launch a podcast called “IMO”.[8]
Awards
In 2020, the company won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program for American Factory.[9][10][11]
Productions
Feature films
Television
Documentaries
Podcasts
| Release date | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 29, 2020 (premiere) | The Michelle Obama Podcast | Produced in exclusive partnership with Spotify. | |
| February 22, 2021 (premiere) | Renegades: Born in the USA | Produced in exclusive partnership with Spotify. | |
| January 12, 2022 (season premiere) | The Big Hit Show: Twilight | Produced in exclusive partnership with Spotify. | |
| February 9, 2022 (season premiere) | The Big Hit Show: To Pimp a Butterfly | Produced in exclusive partnership with Spotify. | |
| March 21, 2023 (season premiere) | The Light Podcast | ||
| August 30, 2023 (season premiere) | Your Mama's Kitchen | ||
| December 12, 2024 | The Wonder of Stevie | Produced in partnership with Pineapple Street Productions. | |
| March 12, 2025 (season premiere) | IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson | ||
| August 14, 2025 (season premiere) | The Outfit | ||
| September 18, 2025 | Fela Kuti: Fear No Man | ||
| October 6, 2025 (season premiere) | The Second Opinion with Dr. Sharon | ||