In 1949, when the Agricultural Act of 1949 gave the Commodity Credit Corporation, a government-owned corporation dedicated to stabilizing farm incomes, the authority to purchase dairy products like cheese from farmers. The result was government cheese and as part of the New Deal’s attempt to stabilize prices and help farmers, dairy farmers who had been hurting were flush with cash. Government Cheese was considered a divine intervention to farmers and those in poverty.
In Apple TV’s upcoming series, Government Cheese, the dramedy follows Hampton Chambers (played by David Oyelowo), a man recently released from prison who struggles to keep his criminal past at bay and win back his family, all while processing moments of divine intervention that seem to happen with increasing frequency. Simone Missick will play Astoria, Hampton’s wife.
Government Cheese is based on the short film of the same name by Paul Hunter, who serves as co-creator of the Apple series alongside Aeysha Carr. Hunter will also direct the series. Executive producers include Oyelowo through his production company Yoruba Saxon; Hunter via Ventureland; Carr; Charles D. King and Ahmadou Seck for Macro Television Studios; and Jelani Johnson and Marta Fernandez. Ventureland’s Ali Brown serves as co-executive producer. Apple Studios and Macro Television studios co-produce the project.
Repped by CAA, M88 & Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher; Missick is best known for starring in Misty Knight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series “Luke Cage,” which ran on Netflix from 2016 to 2018, and reprised the role in “The Defenders” and “Iron Fist.” More recently, she played Lola Carmichael in the legal drama “All Rise,” which ran on CBS from 2019 to 2021 and the Oprah Winfrey Network from 2022 to 2023. Her other prominent credits include the film “Jinn” and Season 2 of Netflix’s “Altered Carbon.
Oyelowo and his wife Jessica Oyelowo recently entered an overall deal at Apple. Oyelowo also stars in the Apple series “Silo,” which has been renewed for a second season.
