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The Circus

  • TV-14
  • 2016–2023
  • 8 seasons
  • Documentary
  • 6.5

Inside the Craziest Political Campaign on Earth

Come one, come all to The Circus. This real-time documentary series pulls back the curtain on the current political stories, revealing the intense, inspiring and infuriating stories behind the headlines. Key characters and events are presented in real time, as they are happening.

Episodes

Season one pulls back the curtain on the 2016 presidential race, revealing the stories behind the headlines.

26 episodes
  1. 1The Outsiders

    29 minJan 17, 2016

    The campaigns of three "outsiders" - Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump - are given behind-the-scenes attention on the road to the Iowa caucus. Series premiere.

  2. 2Prisoner's Dilemma

    29 minJan 24, 2016

    The second episode follows Sen. Marco Rubio, Gov. Chris Christie, former Gov. Jeb Bush and Gov. John Kasich as they prepare for the all-important, first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire.

  3. 3Tension City

    29 minJan 31, 2016

    This episode follows the angst and drama leading up to the Iowa caucuses, with a showdown brewing between Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and the GOP's first real test of outsider candidates versus the establishment.

  4. 4The Big Mo

    29 minFeb 7, 2016

    The fourth episode goes inside the Iowa fallout and the momentum leading into New Hampshire's primary. Who¿s got it? Who doesn't? And how can the Clinton and Trump campaigns pick up the pace to beat back the surge of Sanders and Cruz?

  5. 5The Winnowing

    29 minFeb 14, 2016

    From the electric jolt of New Hampshire to the hard truths coming up in South Carolina and Nevada. Trump tastes victory, Kasich picks up momentum - and Bush faces the prospect of an impending do-or-die reality.

  6. 6Fear and Loathing

    29 minFeb 21, 2016

    As the campaigns head towards the final stretch leading to Nevada and South Carolina, there's growing anxiety among both frontrunners and stragglers about just how high the stakes are - and the significance of falling behind.

  7. 7Confidence Game

    29 minFeb 28, 2016

    With the field narrowed down to The Big Five, the campaigns spread their game across the country and play to their strengths - with eyes squarely focused on the all-important upcoming prize: Super Tuesday.

  8. 8The Reckoning

    29 minMar 6, 2016

    With big wins for the frontrunners on Super Tuesday the rest of candidates are reckoning with the results. But the biggest story of all might be one both Democratic and Republican establishments can agree on: how do they stop Trump?

  9. 9Dead or Alive

    29 minMar 13, 2016

    It's make or break time for Rubio, Kasich and Sanders. As the candidates pin their hopes on Florida and Ohio, can they gather enough momentum to force a brokered convention - or will their campaigns finally run out of steam?

  10. 10High Hopes

    29 minMar 20, 2016

    While Rubio gets trumped in Florida, the rest of the candidates remain cautiously optimistic. But are high hopes what they need to pull off a win and secure the nomination - or are they just delusional?

  11. 11Home And Abroad

    29 minMar 27, 2016

    Foreign policy comes to the fore as the political climate grows fiery in the wake of the attacks in Brussels. As Trump and Clinton prepare to square off, can either of them prove their presidential mettle in handling the heat?

  12. 12On Wisconsin

    29 minApr 3, 2016

    Ahead of a Wisconsin showdown the candidates crisscross the state in pursuit of competing agendas. Can Kasich, Cruz or Sanders secure their position as spoilers - or will Clinton and Trump finally be crowned their party's Big Cheese?

  13. 13Circus Recap

    29 minApr 10, 2016

    From the early primary battles to the Super Tuesday showdown and beyond, pull back the curtain on the 2016 presidential race with Mark Halperin, John Heilemann and Mark McKinnon - and catch up on the electrifying first twelve weeks.

  14. 14Game On

    29 minJul 10, 2016

    While the nation celebrates July 4th, Trump and Clinton engage in their own fireworks. With the reemergence of Clinton's email scandal and Trump's latest faux pas, the titans go on the attack to take each other down.

  15. 15Veepstakes

    29 minJul 17, 2016

    No president is complete without a veep. As Trump auditions Chris Christie, Mike Pence and Newt Gingrich and Clinton considers Tim Kaine, can the candidates find the right-hand man for the job who will make, not break, their campaign?

  16. 16The Trump Show

    29 minJul 24, 2016

    The political circus goes into overdrive as Trump is crowned the Republican nominee - and Melania, controversially, speaks! Capitalizing on his children to help humanize his image, can Trump plus Pence finally rally a unified party?

  17. 17In the Arena

    29 minJul 31, 2016

    The jeers and boos of Sanders diehards ring out in Philadelphia, before the Democrats at last make Hillary a historic nominee. But is shattering a glass ceiling enough for Clinton and Kaine to unite the party into a winning coalition?

  18. 18Closing the Gap

    29 minSep 11, 2016

    With ten weeks to go until the election the Trump campaign finds itself running from behind. As members of his party start to publicly jump ship, can Trump find a way to close the gap with Clinton or will he just fall further behind?

  19. 19Fit to Serve

    29 minSep 18, 2016

    As Clinton's pneumonia and scrutiny about Trump's medical records comes to the forefront, their fitness to lead is questioned.

  20. 20Battleground

    29 minSep 25, 2016

    As Clinton and Trump prepare for their first debate, their campaigns target the swing states with an eye on Florida.

  21. 21The Newsrooms

    29 minOct 2, 2016

    Preparations for the debate; the candidates cede the spotlight to those who cover the political news.

  22. 22Tale of the Tape

    29 minOct 16, 2016

    The fallout from the second debate and the current scandal surrounding a recently publicized audio tape.

  23. 23From Russia With Love

    29 minOct 23, 2016

    Clinton faces the scandal of her highly sensitive, private emails being made public on WikiLeaks, amid claims of foreign hacking and intervention and international espionage of the 2016 election.

  24. 24His Word as Biden

    29 minOct 30, 2016

    With only two weeks until election day, Clinton bets on the one man who has the potential to swing those states still up for grabs: Joe Biden.

  25. 25Nobody F... Knows

    29 minNov 6, 2016

    Polls predict the differing outcomes; both campaigns make a case in "far-fetched battlegrounds"; to most, the race is either up for grabs or already decided.

  26. 26President Trump

    29 minNov 13, 2016

    In a special hour-long episode of the real-time documentary series, Mark Halperin, John Heilemann and Mark McKinnon go behind the scenes of both campaigns in the lead up to Election Day - and the fallout that followed.

Where to watch The Circus

Availability from JustWatch, via TMDB. Full listing for United States

Series cast

John HeilemannSelf - Co-Host130 episodes
Mark McKinnonSelf - Co-Host130 episodes
Alex WagnerSelf - Co-Host84 episodes
Jennifer PalmieriSelf - Co-Host44 episodes
Mark HalperinSelf - Co-Host34 episodes
Marjorie Taylor GreeneSelf5 episodes
Liz CheneySelf5 episodes
Jen PsakiSelf4 episodes
Gretchen WhitmerSelf3 episodes
Ilhan OmarSelf3 episodes
Alexandria Ocasio-CortezSelf (archive footage)3 episodes
Hakeem JeffriesSelf2 episodes
Tim KaineSelf2 episodes
Rick ScottSelf2 episodes
Jon OssoffSelf (archive footage)2 episodes
Debbie DingellSelf2 episodes
Daniel GoldmanSelf2 episodes
Sean Patrick MaloneySelf2 episodes

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