Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee In 2024, stepping in for an ailing President Joe Biden. Interestingly, this scenario mirrors a plot from a TV show almost 20 years ago.
The show, Commander in Chief, premiered in 2005 with Geena Davis starring as the first female U.S. vice president, selected to help an older, white male presidential candidate appeal to more voters. Sound familiar? While there are differences between the fictional and real-life situations—the show’s president, Teddy Bridges, was a Republican, and Davis’ character, Mackenzie Allen, was an Independent—the concept of a female president was front and center. In the show, the president dies, leading to Allen becoming the first female commander in chief.
Commander in Chief started strong, even outperforming House in ratings, but it was canceled after one season. This led to speculation about whether the country was ready for a female president, even in fiction. In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, the key figures behind the show reflected on its legacy and whether it paved the way for today’s political climate.
Series creator Rod Lurie believes Commander in Chief absolutely played a role in preparing the public for a female president, recalling that he told the show’s executives, “If we do our jobs, we’re going to change the world.” He aimed to make people more comfortable with the idea of a “Madam President.”
Geena Davis shared a similar hope that the portrayal of a woman in the highest office would normalize the concept. Lurie pitched the idea of a female president as a no-brainer, and ABC bought the concept, pending the attachment of a major star like Davis. Before Commander in Chief, there were very few depictions of women presidents in Hollywood. One exception was Polly Bergen’s role in the 1964 comedy Kisses for My President. Bergen later played the mother of Davis’ character in the show.
Much has been said about the role pop culture plays in normalizing underrepresented groups. Shows like Will & Grace and comedians like Ellen DeGeneres have been credited with changing perceptions of the LGBTQ community. A poll taken the year after Commander in Chief aired found that 58 percent of viewers who were familiar with the show were more likely to take the idea of a female president seriously.
Lurie recalls an interview where one reporter accused him of promoting a Republican agenda since Mackenzie Allen served in a Republican administration, while another asked if he was paving the way for Hillary Clinton. He wasn’t specifically thinking about Clinton but admits he was trying to pave the way for a female president. In fact, Bill Clinton once greeted Davis by calling her “My president” and revealed that Commander in Chief was a favorite show of his and Hillary’s.
Despite Davis winning a Golden Globe, the show faced behind-the-scenes issues, including Lurie’s firing. He was replaced by Stephen Bochco, known for gritty dramas like Hill Street Blues. Lurie felt the show’s tone shifted from advocating for a female president to questioning the idea, though he admits his time on the show wasn’t perfect. Bochco also exited soon after, calling his experience “horrible,” and the show was canceled.
Davis still reflects on the potential impact the show could have had with more time. Anne Sweeney, former president of ABC Television Group, believes the show was important in 2005, a time when far fewer women held seats in Congress. In 2005, there were 14 female senators, compared to 25 today. Congress had 74 women in 2005; in 2024, there are 126.
Melissa Silverstein, founder of Women and Hollywood, credits the show with helping to pave the way for more diverse female political candidates, even if women at the time still faced coverage focusing on superficial aspects like “hair, hemlines, and husbands.” Lurie and Davis were mindful of these double standards and wanted to create a female leader who embraced her femininity while navigating these challenges.
Lurie is surprised that few reporters have reached out to him about Commander in Chief compared to his 2000 film The Contender, which starred Joan Allen as a female senator whose career is derailed by a sex scandal. He notes that Kamala Harris has faced personal attacks during her career, but these critiques seem to have less impact now, signaling some progress in public perception since the days of Commander in Chief.
Davis, meanwhile, has become a leader in the gender equity space, founding the Geena Davis Institute to advocate for more balanced representation in media. She was inspired by the lack of female characters in children’s programming when her daughter was growing up. The institute’s research continues to expose disparities in gender representation, noting that nearly a third of powerful female characters are shown in revealing clothing, compared to less than 10 percent of male characters.
Davis believes gender inequality in entertainment can be resolved quickly. “The next movie or TV show can be gender-balanced,” she says, advocating for equal representation in all aspects of media.
Though Davis declined to comment on the 2024 election, Sweeney emphasized the importance of representation. She hopes that this election cycle will finally make a female president a reality, not just a fictional character from a past TV show.
