Netflix is assembling Whoopi Goldberg, Jenifer Lewis, Vanessa Williams and Vivica A. Fox for Women Like Us, a new ensemble comedy about friendship, grief and starting again. Entertainment trade publications Variety and Deadline reported the project on July 27, with fresh international coverage following on July 28. Production is scheduled to begin in New York City this fall, although Netflix has not announced a release date.
Tasha Smith is set to direct from an original screenplay by Ali Kinney, with Tracy Oliver also contributing to the writing. The film brings together four performers whose careers span cinema, television, music and theater. The announcement identifies the central cast but does not disclose which character each actor will play, leaving the precise distribution of roles for a later stage of the production.
The story follows a recently widowed woman whose lifelong best friends and sister take her to the Hamptons on what would have been her 30th wedding anniversary. The weekend develops into a reckoning with bereavement, marriage and the bonds that have sustained the women over many years. Its premise also centers on the idea that personal ambitions do not expire because of age, loss or changed circumstances.
Women Like Us will be produced by MACRO Film Studios and Higher Ground, the media company founded by former US President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. Reports describe the film as the first collaboration between the two production companies. James Lopez and Poppy Hanks will produce for MACRO, while Anikah McLaren and Mark R. Wright will produce for Higher Ground.
Michelle Obama and MACRO founder Charles D. King are attached as executive producers. The project extends Higher Ground's film and television work with Netflix while giving the four veteran leads a story built around women in later adulthood rather than supporting roles around younger characters. Its planned New York shoot also places the production close to the Hamptons setting described in the official premise.
Key details remain open before filming begins, including the actors' individual roles, additional casting and a timetable for release. Netflix has not disclosed whether the comedy will receive any theatrical play before streaming. The next verifiable milestones are expected to be the start of production this fall and further casting or scheduling announcements from the companies involved.
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