With a storyline more suited to that of television than reality, the Donald Trump saga looks set to find its true home, Michael Woolfe having sold the rights to his bestselling book Fire and Fury for a purported seven figure sum. For Trump it is an obvious progression from the Apprentice – ‘From boardroom to Oval Office’ if you like. Certainly, just as much firing and upheaval.
With the warring tribes of Bannon and Jarvanka, the Chewbacca-sounding and equally frightening duo of Ivanka and Jared, and the Alt Right versus the moderates with Trump the puppet on strings – all with zero political experience. Add in your classic catchphrase of “fake news” and that ominous Russia investigation, and it is sure to make for good telly. Maybe Sean Spicer could make a cameo appearance after his unceremonious removal from the White House.
Building off the success of political dramas like Park and Recreations, The Thick of It and Veep, the show would certainly occupy a well designated slot on our screens. Perhaps even more farcical then these works of fiction, and with a bit of tragedy thrown in given its real-world implications, a Fire and Fury remake would be a must watch. Indeed, networks are already lapping up this new form of reality television, one perhaps more depressing to our state of humanity than Geordie Shore, with The President Show and Our Cartoon President to be released by Comedy Central and Showtime respectively.
The biggest question has to be who will play Trump himself. An eclectic mixture of traits, from his fine hair to his inability to concentrate and a confidence to refer to yourself in the third person, means that the role surely is one of a kind. Comedian and Trump impersonator Anthony Atamanuik has been picked for The President Show and fellow impersonator Alec Baldwin surely has to be the most sought-after candidate, coming off the back of his fine performances portraying Trump on Saturday Night Live.
There certainly isn’t a lack of content. Series upon series could be squeezed from the shambles that is his administration. From his campaign looking dead in the water in the wake of the infamous ‘pussygate’, to his victory being marred by his wife’s tears (and not tears of joy), Trump’s run to president could be packed nicely into a first series. From then on the travel bans, the government shutdown and not to mention the sacking of the FBI director James Comey would be just some of the turbulent drama that has taken place in Trump’s first year in office. Indeed, the finale may well be Trump’s impeachment if the Russia Investigation proves lucrative, perhaps followed by a Bannon 2020 run for president as muted by Woolfe.
We can all agree that whilst we may find his presidency appalling, the show would make for impeccable viewing. One can even imagine Trump tuning in on one of his three plasma screens in his room while gorging on his cheeseburgers, forever complaining of media bias.
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