Netflix has announced a production deal with former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. The former first couple will now create original content, including documentaries, scripted series, and features. Business Insider reports that the deal has sparked outrage on social media, with many threatening to cancel their subscriptions and boycott the live streaming network.

Netflix has 110 million subscribers worldwide, so it would take a lot of people disconnecting from the service to make an impact. On the other hand, Netflix depends on an ever-growing subscriber base to maintain revenue that it uses to pay for original content.

A slowdown in growth or even a decline would severely impact Netflix’s ability to grow and prosper.

Why the Obamas?

At first glance, one wonders that of all of the retired politicians in the world, why Netflix choose the Obamas to cut a production deal with. They haven’t demonstrated any creativity that would seem necessary to create content, aside from the politician’s ability to prevaricate. In fact, the Obamas have two advantages that make them attractive to Netflix.

The first quality is frankly derived from ideological bias on the part of Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, a big Hillary supporter and "never Trumper." But hiring two people with no discernible talent based on their politics and fame would seem to be dangerous at best.

The second quality is a better one, that being the ties that the Obamas have with the entertainment industry. The Obamas might be able to inspire some A-list talent to develop content for Netflix. They would be acting as kind of rainmakers for the network rather than producers in their own right.

On the other hand, another former politician has proven creative talent

Of course, if a conservative boycott starts eating into Netflix’s bottom line, the live streaming network could have an out. It could strike a similar production deal with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich is not only the author or coauthor of a number of novels, but he also owns his own film production company that churns out documentaries for the direct to video market.

Netflix could buy the live streaming rights for a lot of Gingrich Productions content and start developing original projects based not only on the former speaker’s numerous outside the box public policy ideas and views of history but also on his fiction.

Imagine a three-part miniseries based on the Gettysburg alternate history trilogy Gingrich co-wrote a few years ago? Or maybe Netflix could start with a series of documentaries about the former speaker’s views on space exploration? In any case, hiring Gingrich would provide some much needed ideological balance and a hedge just in case the Obama deal does not create anything people care to see.
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