Fake Presidents

Nov 26 2024 61 ep. 46 mins 22
Fake Presidents Podcast artwork

Remember when you could talk about politics without it being hazardous to your health? We think we’ve found a loophole. Each episode, Eric Buchman and Ben Oren take a deep dive into a fictional American president from film or TV, to see just how much fiction there really is. It’s a podcast sorta about politics and kinda about pop culture, hosted by two former politicos turned TV writer/producers who’d much rather talk about real movies and fake politics than fake movies and real politics.

  TV & Film  Government
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Banie Bros (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, 2012)

Nov 26 2024 40 mins  
What? You don't remember there being a POTUS in 2012's Christopher Nolan-directed, Christian Bale-starring THE DARK KNIGHT RISES? Neither did we! But there is one, and he's got a whole monologue and everything! Find us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky, or email us at fakepresidents [at] gmail.com to join the convo!

Quid Pro Cho (The Presidents of THE TWILIGHT ZONE)

Oct 30 2024 50 mins  
This Halloween, let's take a spookily ironic look at every president ever portrayed in any episode of any version of THE TWILIGHT ZONE! (It's not that many) Believe it or not, it wasn't until Jordan Peele's 2019 reboot of The Twilight Zone that we got the series' first truly fake president. In "The Wunderkind," John Cho stars as a hotshot campaign manager, Jacob Tremblay as the 11-

Bee Pluribus Unum (THE BEEKEEPER, 2024)

Sep 30 2024 49 mins  
Did you know there's a fake president in Jason Statham's pulpy, hit actioner THE BEEKEEPER? We didn't! Not until a listener gave us the heads up. British thespian Jemma Redgrave plays the American president. Josh Hutcherson is her not-quite-failson. Jeremy Irons is back in Alfred-mode. And Minnie Driver inexplicably gets a couple scenes for no real apparent reason. We know what thi

Better Red Than Dead (STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, 1991)

Jun 30 2024 54 mins  
It's the last cinematic voyage of the original Enterprise crew, but the first (and only) for the new Federation President, played by The 70s Show's Kurtwood Smith. Kurtwood joins William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, as well as Star Trek newcomers Kim Cattrall, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, and... Christia

HasbrOTUS (G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA, 2009)

May 30 2024 52 mins  
From a Ken Doll in fatigues to "action figures" with kung fu grip to an afterschool cartoon and finally to... a live action theatrical release! It's 2009's G.I. JOE: RISE OF CORBA. The fictional President is nameless, but is he also faceless? (Well...technically, yes, in a way, but we'll get to that...) THE MUMMY'S Stephen Sommers directs a cast of literally thousands (of names). E

America Has Fallen (CIVIL WAR, 2024)

Apr 15 2024 53 mins  
It's a house divided in this episode as our hosts have very differing takes on just how successfully this new film from writer/director Alex Garland (ANNILHILATION, EX MACHINA) infuses its narrative with grounded politics... and whether it needs to at all? Nick Offerman gets an upgrade from municpal parks and rec employee to POTUS. Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, and St

Theater in the Oval (POTUS, the Tony-nominated play)

Mar 23 2024 37 mins  
In the spring of 2022, a new play opened on Broadway called "POTUS," with the lengthy subtitle: "OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE." From the director of "THE PRODUCERS" (the Broadway musical), this comedy starred Vanessa Williams, Julianne Hough, Rachel Dratch, Suzy Nakamura, Lilli Cooper, Lea DeLaria, and Julie White. Neither of us were able

Presidents Day Special 2024

Feb 19 2024 60 mins  
Eric couldn't sleep and happened upon a late night rerun of a classic TV show from the 80s that suprisingly had a fake president. Which got us wondering... what other TV classics have one-off, nearly disposable fake presidents?! Oh, and we talk about Gareth Edwards' THE CREATOR. Well, we talk about whether or not we should talk about it. 00:00 - INTRO 03:01 - THE CREATOR 07:48 - HI

On the Campaign Trail(ers)

Jan 23 2024 47 mins  
We finally get to do something we don't usually get to do...speculate about the future! Ben and Eric take a look at two new trailers with heaps of potential for (prestige) fake POTUSes to see what 2024 may have in store for fictional politics. Nick Offerman is a fake president while America is torn asunder in Alex Garland's CIVIL WAR? Kate Winslet is the head-of-state of a fascist

Yes, Virginia, there is a Fake President (SOME WANNABE HALLMARK MOVIE YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF)

Dec 11 2023 46 mins  
A "Hallmark-style" holiday rom-com featuring a fake president? Of course we had to watch it! (So you don't have to!) CHRISTMAS AT THE HOLLY HOTEL is a fictional movie about a real hotel that once played a role in George H.W. Bush's ill-fated reelection campaign. It stars no one you'll recognize, directed by no one you've heard of, but it's made lovingly by people who seem to care v