“Waffles + Mochi,” a food-themed series for children of all ages that began streaming Tuesday, comes from Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions – one of the first products of a big slate of programs for Netflix that the former president hopes “won’t just entertain, but will educate, connect and inspire us all.”
It’s no surprise to find them here. The White House might be a bully pulpit, but Netflix is what the world watches; likewise, it’s no surprise that the streamer would want the world’s foremost power couple in its luxury stable. Both Obamas are quite media savvy, and television is an instrument they’ve played expertly in unexpected ways: POTUS out-snarking Zach Galifianakis on “Between Two Ferns” to sell the Affordable Care Act; FLOTUS demonstrating Mom Dances with Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show.”
While Barack has been podcasting with Bruce Springsteen – “The Renegades: Born in the USA,” over on Spotify – Michelle, as “Mrs. Obama,” runs a toy-town supermarket, where she oversees a talking shelf (Taleia Gilliam, as Shelfie) and a talking mop (Diona Elise Burnett, as Steve) and tends a rooftop garden where she may be typically found in the company of an officious bee named Busy (Jonathan Kidder). Co-created by Jeremy Konner (“Drunk History,” of all things) and Erika…
