Swarm creators Donald Glover and Janine Nabers made the right choice by signing Malia Obama on as a writer for the show.
The show is Obama’s TV writing debut, and, according to Kare11, her ideas for the fifth episode, “Girl, Bye,” blew Glover and Nabers away.
“[‘Girl, Bye’] is probably one of the wildest episodes,” Nabers said. “I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people. It’s pretty dope. I’m really proud of it.”
The fifth episode touches on Dre (played by Dominique Fishback) returning to the home where she and Marissa (Chloe Bailey) grew up and encountering her foster dad, who held her at gunpoint and threw accusations at her. At the same time, she attempted to run away from him.
“Some of [Obama’s] pitches were wild as hell, and they were just so good and so funny,” Naber said. “She’s an incredible writer. She brought a lot to the table…She’s really, really dedicated to her craft.”
Sis2Sis reported last year that Glover signed the former first daughter to the show, claiming he enjoyed her writing style and that the Harvard graduate brought a lot to the table.
Obama broke into the Hollywood TV and film industry after interning for Lena Dunham’s HBO show Girls. She also became Halle Berry’s production assistant on CBS’ Extant.
Swarm‘s creators aren’t the only ones fascinated with Obama’s TV writing capabilities. Actress and singer Bailey loved reuniting with Obama years after meeting her and Sasha.
“It was always so fun and exciting getting to run into Malia and Sasha years prior… So, having that relationship with Mrs. Obama and getting to meet her daughters, I was always so honored, and they always felt like my family in my head,” Bailey said.
The singer-songwriter and actress continued, “So, getting to see Malia now, us both growing into who we are as young women and making our own mark, her as an incredible writer and me making my mark as an entertainer and an actress, it was really fun,” Bailey beams. “I was just so excited when I actually got to see her on set. I’m just so proud of her.”
