It will dramatize pivotal moments in U.S. history that defined the legacy of the men who served as Presidents of the United States — from the first one, George Washington, to Number 42, Bill Clinton.
The first installments of the series were said to focus on Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson.
As part of the development process, History had optioned several biographies as source material for The Commanders including The Breach: Inside the Imp]eachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton by Peter Baker, Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris, Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade, The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan by Rick Perlstein, and Alliance: The Inside Story of How Roosevelt, Stalin & Churchill Won One War & Began Another by Jonathan Fenby.
[1][2] On November 30, 2017, it was announced that History had decided to develop their adaptation of Peter Baker's book, separately from The Commanders series, as its own miniseries.
Producers for The Breach reportedly had trouble casting the lead role of Bill Clinton after making various offers to "A-list" actors which contributed to the season's demise.