SHOWTIME(R) ORDERS NEW ANIMATED SERIES CENTERED ON TRUMP WHITE HOUSE EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY MULTIPLE EMMY(R) WINNER STEPHEN COLBERT
Satirical Half-Hour Series Will Air This Fall
LOS ANGELES - July 27, 2017 - SHOWTIME has given a 10-episode order to a new untitled half-hour animated series executive produced by multiple Emmy winner Stephen Colbert, and starring the two-dimensional avatars of President Donald Trump and the most powerful family in the world. Premiering on SHOWTIME this fall, the fresh, cutting-edge comedy will present the truish adventures of Trump's confidants and bon vivants - family, top associates, heads of government, golf pros and anyone else straying into his orbit - intrepidly exploring their histories and their psyches, revealing insights into what makes them so definitively Trumpian. It's a workplace comedy where the office happens to be oval; it's a character study in search of character, as seen through the eyes of an imaginary documentary crew. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc.
"I know a lot of people wanted to do this, and I'm honored that the Cartoon President invited our documentary crew into his private world," Colbert said. "I've seen some of the footage, and I look forward to sharing the man behind the MAGA."
Inspired by the animated opening segment of the Emmy-nominated SHOWTIME special, STEPHEN COLBERT'S LIVE ELECTION NIGHT DEMOCRACY'S SERIES FINALE: WHO'S GOING TO CLEAN UP THIS SH*T?, and a popular recurring character on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the upcoming series teams the brilliant Colbert with his executive producer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Chris Licht, to hilariously and pointedly deconstruct life in the White Household: family members, insiders, world leaders, even rival Democrats. Turnaround time on production will be swift (not unlike the SHOWTIME docuseries THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH), enabling current events to play a role in the colorful exploits of Trump and his band of others.
"Stephen and Chris have an uncanny genius for deconstructing the world of President Trump, and this series opens a new realm for them," Nevins said. "Their vision will produce a comedy that makes waves, gets attention and plays great on our networks, including our streaming service."
Produced by CBS Television Studios, the series will be executive produced by Colbert and Licht. Tim Luecke, who co-created the Late Show version of Animated Trump, will serve as lead animator (and co-executive producer).
Colbert earned six Emmy nominations this year, including three for SHOWTIME (Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series and Outstanding Variety Special), and will be hosting the 2017 Primetime Emmys. Colbert has also received four Peabody Awards, four WGA Awards, seven PGA Awards and two Grammy Awards. Licht himself earned a Peabody Award as executive producer of CBS This Morning and has also won three News and Documentary Emmy Awards and two Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Awards.
With this new series, SHOWTIME augments its slate of provocative programming with a political bent, including THE CIRCUS (which in its two seasons has focused on the 2016 presidential campaign and Trump's first 100 days in office), THE PUTIN INTERVIEWS (Oliver Stone's unprecedented conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin) and RISK (a no-holds-barred view of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, from Academy Award(R) winner Laura Poitras).
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, Google, Xbox One and Samsung. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Hulu, YouTube TV, Sling TV, Sony PlayStation(TM) Vue and Amazon Channels. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks(TM), a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel(TM), and offers Smithsonian Earth(TM) through SN Digital LLC. 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.
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