Report: Netflix used Barack Obama in a failed attempt to get Denzel Washington to star in a TV show

The Hollywood Reporter

Not only is the former president producing projects for Netflix, but the streaming service is taking advantage of his tight relationship with chief content officer Ted Sarandos to land big-name stars. "The relationship with Sarandos cuts both ways, with the exec using Obama to entice reluctant talent," reports The Hollywood Reporter's Tatiana Siegel. "A source says that the TV-allergic Denzel Washington took a meeting with Sarandos in the fall, and Obama just happened to be in Sarandos' offices, extolling the merits of the streamer. The lure of having Obama in the room seems to have worked, to a degree: Washington moved Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, a project he is producing, from HBO to the streamer but has rebuffed any offers to star."