Obamas buy rights to Lewis’ ‘Fifth Risk’

Adaptations of Michael Lewis books are nothing new. “Moneyball,” “The Blind Side” and “The Big Short” have all ended up on the big screen.

Something different is being tried out, though, for the Berkeley author’s latest book.

“The Fifth Risk,” about the inner workings of the federal bureaucracy, is in the works to become a Netflix series — and it’s the first one to be acquired by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground Productions.

“The Fifth Risk” would seem to lend itself well to the long-form narrative format of Netflix, the streaming service based in Los Gatos. In his review for The Chronicle, John Diaz called the book “a fascinating look at the people and operations in corners of government that are critical to everything from health and safety to unleashing the imaginations of the brightest minds in science for discoveries that would never be pursued if left to a profit-and-loss sheet.”

Published in October by W.W. Norton, the book focuses on three federal agencies — Energy, Commerce and Agriculture — and the transition from Obama’s administration to that of Donald Trump.

“Neither Donald Trump nor his closest advisers,” wrote Diaz, “had much appreciation, let alone reverence, for the functions of the government they were about to inherit after the 2016 election. Instead, they seemed to have an indifference bordering on contempt.”

The acquisition of the rights to Lewis’ book was first reported by Deadline.

The Obamas’ deal to produce original content for Netflix was announced in May. “This is not The Obama Network,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said at the time. “There’s no political slant to the programming.”