The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth; Showtime Greenlights New Docu-Series

Showtime announces it has green-lit The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth. Showtime says this new political documentary series will, “pull back the curtain on the 2016 presidential race….”

The series comes from political reporters Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, of Game Change fame, and campaign advisor, Mark McKinnon. The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth is set to premiere in January 2016, in advance of the Iowa caucuses.

Here’s the press release:

SHOWTIME(R) GREENLIGHTS TRAILBLAZING NEW POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES “THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH”

Premiering In January 2016, New Weekly Vérité Series To Capture The Human Rollercoaster Of The Presidential Campaign

NEW YORK, NY – December 15, 2015 – Today, SHOWTIME has greenlit a groundbreaking new political series THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH, produced in cooperation with Bloomberg Politics and featuring Bloomberg Politics managing editors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann (co-authors of the New York Times best-sellers Game Change and Double Down, and co-hosts of the nightly political show “With All Due Respect” on Bloomberg Television) and noted campaign strategist and media advisor Mark McKinnon. The real-time documentary series will pull back the curtain on the 2016 presidential race, revealing the intense, irreverent, inspiring and infuriating stories behind the headlines of what promises to be one of the most fascinating and consequential elections in modern history. Premiering in January 2016, in advance of the Iowa caucuses, THE CIRCUS will deliver the stories as they are happening and examine what really goes on behind the carefully constructed facade of a presidential campaign in real time. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President, Showtime Networks Inc.

THE CIRCUS will follow multiple individual stories and key characters from the campaigns and capture their unique perspectives in weekly half-hour shows between January and November. With intimate, behind-the-scenes access, cameras will offer viewers a look at what the public rarely sees and explore the high human drama inherent in the pursuit of the Oval Office.

“Americans are captivated by the 2016 presidential election and a real-time political series of this nature has never been done before,” said Nevins. “People don’t want to wait a year to see how and why things played out and the impact they had. Everything today is immediate, so there’s no better time to change the way American politics are covered. Mark and John are the preeminent chroniclers of the presidential scene with their deeply influential books and I’m thrilled that, along with Mark McKinnon, they will bring their years of expertise and the pedigree of Bloomberg Politics to SHOWTIME in a truly dynamic and innovative way with THE CIRCUS.”

Mark Halperin and John Heilemann are the Managing Editors of Bloomberg Politics, a multi-platform destination for smart, sophisticated, non-partisan political coverage. Halperin and Heilemann are also the hosts of Bloomberg TV’s “With All Due Respect,” where every weeknight they bring their deeply-sourced reporting and access to the Bloomberg audience, including interviews with presidential candidates, elected officials, political strategists, cultural figures, and other newsmakers.

Mark McKinnon is a political consultant, columnist, and commentator. He was the chief media advisor to five successful presidential primary and general election campaigns, and is a co-founder of No Labels, an organization dedicated to bipartisanship and political problem solving.

THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH will be produced by Left/Right (a part of Red Arrow Entertainment Group) for SHOWTIME. Mark Halperin, John Heilemann, Mark McKinnon, Banks Tarver and Ken Druckerman serve as executive producers. For a first look, go to: https://youtu.be/FuC6F32tW2U.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX(R), and also offers SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND(R), and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME(R). Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME(R). SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Apple(R), Roku(R), Amazon and Google. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Hulu, Sony PlayStation(R) Vue and Amazon Prime Video. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks(TM), a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel(TM) and Smithsonian Earth(TM). SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.

Do you like the sound of The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth? Do you plan to check it out? Tell us, in the comments.