Former First Daughter Malia Obama made her TV writing debut when episode five of Donald Glover’s Amazon Prime series Swarm premieres. The series, which premiered on Friday, March 17, already has fans buzzing and excited about Malia’s first TV writing credit. The series’ showrunner Janine Nabers opened up about the elder Obama daughter’s contribution to the show in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Malia, 24, co-wrote the episode titled “Girl, Bye” with Janine, and the showrunner promised that it will keep viewers on the edge of their seats, calling it “one of the wildest episodes” of Swarm. “I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people. It’s pretty dope. I’m really proud of it,” Janine told ET.
The showrunner continued and complimented Malia’s talents. “Some of her pitches were wild as hell, and they were just so good and so funny,” she said. “She’s an incredible writer. She brought a lot to the table… She’s really, really dedicated to her craft.”
Swarm is a psychological thriller by Donald and Janine, who had also collaborated on the critically-acclaimed series Atlanta. The show follows the life of a Beyonce–inspired popstar named Dre (played by Dominique Fishback), and dark turns that her life takes with her fanbase. The series also stars Chloe Bailey, and features appearances by Billie Eilish, Paris Jackson, and Damson Idris, per IMDb. The series has seven episodes, all released on March 17.
It was first reported that Malia had landed the job with Donald’s Amazon series (then named Hive), back in February 2021, after she graduated from Harvard University. Donald opened up about working with her, calling her an “amazingly talented person” in a March 2022 interview with Vanity Fair. “She’s really focused, and she’s working really hard,” he said at the time. “I feel like she’s just somebody who’s gonna have really good things coming soon.”
Malia is the older daughter of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Barack and Michelle also have a younger daughter Sasha. The former first lady has been very open about watching her daughters grow up, including that their daughters rented their first apartment in Los Angeles in her new book The Light We Carry in November.