Malia Obama Makes her TV Writing Debut on Donald Glover’s ‘Swarm’

The former first daughter, Malia Obama, is geared up to make her television writing debut on the Amazon Prime Video show Swarm co-created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabers (who also worked together on the Hulu series Atlanta). The thriller series stars Dominique Fishback, Chloe Bailey, and now, Billie Eilish, who makes her acting debut with an appearance on episode 4 as Eva, a cult leader to white women. Obama also nabbed her first writing credit with an episode titled, Girl, Bye.

Nabers, who also serves as the series showrunner, told Entertainment Tonight that Obama’s episode does not disappoint. "['Girl, Bye'] is probably one of the wildest episodes," she added. "I think it's going to surprise a lot of people. It's pretty dope. I'm really proud of it." 

The series, which is now streaming on the platform, is a work of fiction, despite its cheeky opening title at each episode, “this is not a work of fiction." It follows a young woman named Dre (Fishback), who is an obsessed, Houston-based fan who goes to great violent lengths for her favorite R&B artist Ni'Jah, following an unexpected trauma involving her sister, Marissa (Bailey).

“Girl, Bye,” which is co-written by Nabers and Obama, comes halfway through the series when things become increasingly twisted with every person (played by some familiar faces, including Khalid, Kiersey Clemons, Paris Jackson, and more) Dre encounters on her destructive path to her idol.

"Some of her pitches were wild as hell, and they were just so good and so funny," Nabers said of the former first daughter. "She's an incredible writer. She brought a lot to the table … She's really, really dedicated to her craft.

Obama got her feet wet in the production industry when she first interned on the set of Girls, followed by a gig as a production assistant on Halle Berry’s series Extent. She got her major break when Glover recruited her to be a writer for Swarm. 

"She’s just, like, an amazingly talented person," Glover told Vanity Fair last year. In awe of her craft, he added, "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.”

"It was like a family," Nabers said, referring to how Malia "just folded into [the group]." She continued, "I'm really excited for everyone to get to know her work and the work of the writers on a show."