Pop Culture

Donald Glover Recruits 'Amazingly Talented' Malia Obama to Write for His New Amazon Series (UPDATE)

The upcoming project—tentatively titled 'Hive'—is said to focus on a Beyoncé-type character. "Her writing style is great," Glover said about Obama.

UPDATED 3/29, 10:20 a.m.: Paparazzi in L.A. caught Donald Glover for a moment and got his thoughts on Malia Obama’s talents.

“I think she has the potential to pretty much do anything she wants, she’s amazing,” the Atlanta creator told TMZ in the clip above. “She could do anything.”

Asked if “Barack or Michelle like, ever pitch ideas,” Glover laughed and said, “Not yet.”

See original story below.

Malia Obama continues to make moves in Hollywood.

According to Variety, the former first daughter has been hired to write for Donald Glover’s new Amazon series, tentatively titled Hive. The project was created by Janine Nabers (Watchmen) and will reportedly focus on a “Beyoncé-type character.”

“She’s just like, an amazingly talented person,” Glover said about Obama while at the Atlanta season 3 premier. “She’s really focused, and she’s working really hard. I feel like she’s just somebody who’s gonna have really good things coming soon. Her writing style is great.”

At just 23 years old, Obama has already landed a number of highly coveted industry gigs. The Harvard graduate has worked on the set of Halle Berry’s 2014 drama series Extant, interned on HBO’s Girls in 2015, and worked at the Weinstein Company in 2017. And contrary to what critics might say, Glover’s young brother insists Obama’s position was not a result of nepotism.

“Donald always says perspective is important, and people with different perspectives are important for a writers room. And for sure, she definitely has a unique perspective on everything,” said Stephen Glover, who is helping develop the Hive project. “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 [...] In the room, though, she’s just another writer.”

It’s no secret that working in a creative team setting can often result in a clashing of ideas; however, Stephen says he doesn’t hesitate to express his disagreements to Obama—even though she’s the child of one of the most beloved political figures in the world.

“Well, you know, we just hurt her feelings,” he said jokingly. “We can’t be easy on her just because she’s the [former] president’s daughter. 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.”

Stay tuned as more information about Hive becomes available.

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