First Lady Michelle Obama is bringing her advocacy to the silver screen.
For the first time in history, a television series filmed an episode inside the White House. The series is NCIS, a crime drama that centers around the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The show’s May 3rd episode won’t just feature the real interior of the White House. The First Lady herself will make an appearance so she can promote a campaign called Joining Forces.
Joining Forces is a program that provides employment resources, networking, education programs and more to service members, military veterans and their families. The First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden founded the organization in 2011.
In the NCIS episode, special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs will escort a witness involved in Joining Forces to the White House. It is there that Gibbs will briefly come face to face with Michelle Obama, playing herself.
Here’s what NCIS producer Gary Glasberg told TV Guide about the episode:
At the end of the day, this was really about supporting Joining Forces. It’s something that we’ve been aware of and conscious of in our research and storytelling, and this was an opportunity to really focus on it, so that people can be aware of everything it’s done. When we reached out to express our interest in the organization, the opportunity came up for the first lady to participate. Originally the idea was for her to come and spend some time with us, and then, to quote them, they invited us to come and film ‘in their house.’ And that turned out to be just a dream come true for us.
Glasberg emphasized that the only other television show to ever film near the White House was West Wing, and film crews weren’t even allowed inside. As for the First Lady, she has also made cameo appearances on Parks and Recreation, iCarly and Jessie.
While it’s great that Joining Forces will get a public shoutout on a popular network television show, we’re really hoping to here Gibbs utter his trademark quip to the First Lady: “You think, Obama?”