The Wrap reports that, rather than wait to post clips from The Daily Show, Showtime is going straight to the source for information (and, should it ensue, hilarity) on the 2016 presidential campaign. The pay-cable channel has greenlit The Circus, a docuseries produced by Bloomberg Politics and featuring its managing editors, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. The Circus will follow “multiple individual stories and key characters from the campaigns and capture their unique perspectives,” then dole out the interesting and/or divisive highlights in half-hour, weekly increments.
Showtime president David Nevins told The Wrap that his network wants to change the way politics are covered in this modern world of instant gratification. “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,” Nevins said, seemingly unaware of the existence of such outlets as CNN and MSNBC that currently provide political coverage. The series will be shot in real-time, with the premiere set for January (before the Iowa caucuses). The show will wrap up in November, when we will prepare to welcome our next overlord. There’s no word on whose campaign(s) will be documented for posterity, but let’s hope some industrious intern out there is working on a catchy song for their candidate.