Showtime in the US has announced the recommission of groundbreaking political docuseries The Circus produced by Left/Right.
Season Six will return to Showtime on January 10, 2021 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, just ahead of the crucial Georgia run-off elections that will determine control of the U.S. Senate.
The first half of season six will consist of eight episodes, featuring prominent political strategist and commentator Jennifer Palmieri as co-host, joined by John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Mark Mckinnon. Palmieri was a guest contributor for Season Five which had its finale on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020.
Jennifer Palmieri was Communications Director for the Clinton 2016 Presidential Campaign and White House Communications Director for President Obama. She is the author of number-one New York Times bestselling book, Dear Madam President as well as her new book She Proclaims: Our Declaration of Independence from a Man’s World.
John Heilemann is a co-founder of Recount Media and editor-in-chief of The Recount, a new video platform for short-form political news, analysis, and commentary. Heilemann is national affairs analyst for NBC News and MSNBC – where he appears regularly on Morning Joe, Deadline: White House, The Last Word, and The 11th Hour – and co-author of the runaway New York Times bestsellers Game Change and Double Down, widely regarded as the definitive chronicles of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, respectively. Game Change was adapted into a movie of the same name, which went on to win five Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, and a Peabody Award.
Alex Wagner is a contributing editor at The Atlantic. She is also the author of the book Futureface: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest and the Secret To Belonging, which examines questions about American identity and immigration in the 21st century. Previously, Wagner hosted the Emmy(R) nominated MSNBC political affairs program NOW with Alex Wagner. Before joining MSNBC, she was a reporter with the Huffington Post, investigating the intersection of business, politics and new technology. Prior to this, she served as the White House correspondent for Politics Daily and was the Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning FADER magazine.
Mark McKinnon is a political advisor, reform advocate, media columnist and television producer. He was the chief media adviser to five successful presidential primary and general election campaigns and is cofounder of No Labels, an organization dedicated to bipartisanship, civil dialogue and political problem solving. McKinnon has worked for many causes, companies and candidates, including former President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, late Governor Ann Richards and Bono.
The Circus is produced by Left/Right for Showtime. John Heilemann, Mark McKinnon, Alex Wagner, Banks Tarver, Ken Druckerman, Ted Bourne, Tom Johnson and Siobhan Walshe serve as executive producers.
Left/Right also produce acclaimed documentary series The New York Times Presents with the New York Times, for FX and Hulu.