The circus is coming to Showtime — just not the one you might think. The network announced Wednesday that it has greenlit a new political documentary series that will follow the 2016 presidential election, The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth. The docuseries is set to premiere in January, prior to the Iowa caucuses, which are currently set for February 1, and to run through November with weekly half-hour episodes.
The 2016 presidential election has been nothing if not eventful so far, so The Circus certainly seems like it has the potential to be fascinating. Over the course of the show, viewers will be able to follow stories as they develop, plus gain the perspective of key figures involved in the campaigns. Produced in cooperation with Bloomberg Politics, The Circus will feature Bloomberg Politics managing editors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, as well as campaign strategist and media adviser Mark McKinnon.
Although the presidential election has already been dominating headlines for the last several months, Showtime believes The Circus has a unique approach that will change how elections are covered. The series will chronicle the election as it happens, providing behind-the-scene coverage that is typically not available to the public.
“Americans are captivated by the 2016 presidential election and a real-time political series of this nature has never been done before,” said David Nevins, president of Showtime Networks Inc., in a press release. “People don’t want to wait a year to see how and why things played out and the impact they had.”
The Circus will be produced by Left/Right, which is part of Red Arrow Entertainment Group, with Halperin, Heilemann, McKinnon, Banks Tarver, and Ken Druckerman serving as executive producers. An exact air date has not yet been announced.
