Prince Harry Puts Obama on the Spot: ‘Suits’ or ‘The Good Wife’?
Former president proves to be quite the diplomat in choosing his favorite legal drama
Sean Burch | December 27, 2017 @ 8:55 AM
Last Updated: December 27, 2017 @ 12:49 PM
Barack Obama has been out of office for nearly a year, but the 44th president is still answering tough questions, this time courtesy of Prince Harry.
In their highly-anticipated interview for the BBC, the prince puts the ex-commander-in-chief through a “quick fire question round” — which is just the British version of the lightning round. And Harry doesn’t hold back, asking Obama which TV show he prefers: “Suits” or “The Good Wife.”
Obama, keeping his audience in mind, didn’t forget that the prince’s fiance, Meghan Markle, had played paralegal Rachel Zane on the long-running legal drama.
Prince Harry hit Obama with several other pop culture questions. In what has to be one of the easiest questions Obama has been asked, Harry wanted to know if he preferred Rachel or Monica from “Friends.” (Brits are still obsessed with the show, by the way.) Obama answered Rachel, just like everyone else in the world besides Courteney Cox would have.
Harry continued grilling Obama, asking a fairly difficult one a minute later: The Rock or Chris Rock? It’s a tough decision, and being an experienced politician, Obama wisely said he liked both (who doesn’t?). Another one Obama “dodged”: Khloe or Kim Kardashian. “This one I have to defer on,” said the ex-president. Harry = Jake Tapper 2.0, apparently.
President Obama's Favorite Movies and TV Shows in Office (Photos)
President Obama was a great pop culture president, with eclectic, mostly unassailable taste in movies, music and TV. (We weren't so into the mom jeans, but no one's perfect.) Here were some of his favorite things to watch.
"The Wire"
Obama called the Baltimore, HBO drama “The Wire,” “one of the greatest, not just television shows, but pieces of art in the last couple of decades.” Obama sat down with the show’s creator David Simon to talk about how the drug and law enforcement challenges tackled on the show could provide solutions for the country at large.
HBO
"M*A*S*H"
And while Obama might consider “The Wire” the “best” show, his favorite is “M*A*S*H.” In an offhand comment, he revealed to a crowd in Minneapolis that the long-running anti-war comedy from the ‘70s was his favorite of all time.
Maybe he was playing it safe as a candidate, but back in 2008 Obama told Katie Couric that “The Godfather” Part 1 and Part 2 were his favorite movies. “There’s this combination of old-world gentility and ritual, with this savagery underneath. It’s all about family,” he said. As for Part 3? “Not so much.”
Paramount
"Casablanca"
Also in his interview with Couric, Obama name-checked two other classics, “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Casablanca.” “Who doesn’t like ‘Casablanca?’” John McCain went with the Elia Kazan film “Viva Zapata.”
Warner Bros.
"Do the Right Thing"
At a screening celebrating the film’s 25th Anniversary, the Obamas said “Do the Right Thing” was the film they watched on their first official date. “He was trying to show me his sophisticated side by selecting an independent filmmaker,” Michelle said. (You can re-live their date by watching "Southside With You.")
Universal Pictures
"Boyhood"
Like so many others that year, except those in the Academy, Obama said that Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” was his favorite film of 2014.
IFC Films
"The Martian"
Obama selected Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” as his favorite film of 2015, telling Wired: “It shows humans as problem solvers.” Among Obama’s other sci-fi favorites, he named…
20th Century Fox
"2001: A Space Odyssey"
It “captures the grandeur and scale of the unknown.”
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
"Blade Runner"
“It asks what it means to be human.”
Warner Bros.
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
“It is fundamentally optimistic.”
Columbia Pictures Corporation
“The Matrix”
“It asks basic questions about our reality – and it looks very cool.”
Warner Bros.
"Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope"
“It was fun and revolutionized special effects.” (Obama used a screening of “Star Wars” for Gold Star families as an excuse to duck out of a press conference at the end of 2012.)
20th Century Fox
“Cosmos: A Personal Voyage”
When it came to TV shows, Obama was a big fan of Carl Sagan’s documentary series “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,” adding it to his Wired list by saying it fed his “lifelong fascination with space.” Obama also recorded an intro for the new “Cosmos” series, “A Spacetime Odyssey.”
PBS
"Star Trek," the original series
Sorry Picard fans: the Trekkie in Chief is a fan of the original series. He’s been seen giving the Vulcan salute from time to time and told Uhura herself that he had a crush on her when he was younger.
Remembering Obama by the things he watched, from “The Godfather” to “Game of Thrones”
President Obama was a great pop culture president, with eclectic, mostly unassailable taste in movies, music and TV. (We weren't so into the mom jeans, but no one's perfect.) Here were some of his favorite things to watch.