CNN Original Series "Standoff: The FBI, Power and Paranoia" Premieres Sunday, March 22 at 9PM ET/PT

NEW YORK, NY - (February 17, 2026) - CNN Original Series Standoff: The FBI, Power and Paranoia will examine the fragile, high-risk relationship between FBI Directors and the Presidents they serve, spotlighting the moments when that balance is pushed to the brink. The series will premiere with two episodes on Sunday, March 22 at 9pm ET/PT on CNN. The final two episodes will air the following Sunday, March 29 at 9pm ET/PT. Episodes will be available to stream on demand the next day for subscribers of CNN's streaming offering.

Each episode focuses on a defining confrontation that reverberated far beyond the Oval Office, starting with former FBI Director James Comey's own account of his infamous clash with President Donald Trump. Episodes also uncover the long-simmering fracture between J. Edgar Hoover and President Richard Nixon, the strained relationship between President Bill Clinton and FBI Director Louis Freeh, and the post-9/11 alliance between President George W. Bush and FBI Director Robert Mueller. Pulling back the curtain on pivotal clashes between FBI Directors and Presidents of the United States through archival footage, expert analysis, and firsthand accounts, the series traces how personal loyalties, political pressure, and questions of power have shaped the FBI's role in American democracy and national security.

"Standoff delivers clear-eyed, deeply reported storytelling that cuts through power and politics," said Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals, and creative development for CNN Worldwide. "By examining moments when the FBI's independence was tested at the highest levels of government, this series gives viewers vital context for understanding how American institutions function under pressure, and why those moments continue to resonate today."

Standoff builds on CNN Original Series' legacy of authoritative storytelling about American political history, joining an award-winning library of premium programming streaming on the CNN app.

Executive producers for Standoff are Amy Entelis, Katie Hinman and Eric Johnson for CNN Original Series.

Standoff will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps on Sunday, March 22. It will also be available on demand beginning Monday, March 23 to CNN's streaming subscribers via CNN.com and CNN connected TV and mobile apps.

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About CNN Originals

The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN FlashDocs, and CNN Studios, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN's global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 50 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 120 awards and 450 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films' first Academy Award(R) for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy(R) Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy(R) nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and Emmy(R) nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy(R) Award-nominated "Decades Series": The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not directed by Emmy(R) winner Marina Zenovich; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy(R) Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; the Oscar(R), BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, Navalny directed by Daniel Roher; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; Primetime Emmy(R) and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy(R) Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy(R) Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the five-time Emmy(R) Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.