or


[11/06/15 - 09:19 AM]
Showtime(R) to Premiere Provocative Documentary "The Spymasters - CIA in the Crosshairs" Narrated by Mandy Patinkin on November 28th at 9 PM ET/PT
George H. W. Bush, Stansfield Turner, William Webster, Robert Gates, James Woolsey, John Deutch, George Tenet, Porter Goss, Michael Hayden, Leon Panetta, David Petraeus and John Brennan are among those interviewed.

[via press release from Showtime]

SHOWTIME(R) TO PREMIERE PROVOCATIVE DOCUMENTARY "THE SPYMASTERS - CIA IN THE CROSSHAIRS" NARRATED BY MANDY PATINKIN ON NOVEMBER 28TH AT 9 PM ET/PT

The Documentary Features Former CIA Officials Saying George W. Bush Administration Ignored Specific Warnings of Attack Before 9/11 And Reveals Major Debate Among Former CIA Directors Over Harsh Interrogation Techniques and Lethal Drone Attacks

NEW YORK - November 6, 2015 - For the first time in history, all 12 living directors of the CIA will be interviewed in THE SPYMASTERS - CIA IN THE CROSSHAIRS, a two-hour documentary premiering Saturday, November 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME across all platforms. Narrated by Emmy(R) and Tony(R) winner Mandy Patinkin (Homeland), the film offers a remarkable inside look into the spy agency's controversial conduct in the war on terror - marked by the use of brutal interrogation techniques, secret prisons and lethal drone warfare. Written by Chris Whipple (The President's Gatekeepers), THE SPYMASTERS is directed by Jules and Gédéon Naudet (the Emmy, Peabody(R) and DuPont(R) award-winning 9/11) in a joint SHOWTIME and CBS News production. Executive producers are Jules and Gédéon Naudet, Chris Whipple, Susan Zirinsky and David Hume Kennerly.

Interviewed in THE SPYMASTERS are George H. W. Bush, Stansfield Turner, William Webster, Robert Gates, James Woolsey, John Deutch, George Tenet, Porter Goss, Michael Hayden, Leon Panetta, David Petraeus, and John Brennan. Also featured in the documentary are former acting directors Michael Morell and John McLaughlin, along with former top agency operatives Cofer Black, Jose Rodriguez and current senior counterterrorism analyst Gina Bennett.

Highlights of the documentary include former CIA Director George Tenet and his Director of Counterterrorism Cofer Black detailing unheeded warnings given to the Bush administration of an imminent al-Qaeda attack. Two months before 9/11, in an emergency meeting at the White House, they warned National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice that the attack could even take place on U.S. soil. They urged the White House to go on a "war footing." Tenet and Black say the warnings were ignored. The directors are also remarkably candid about the agency's controversial lethal drone warfare program - a program so secret that the CIA has never officially acknowledged it. Former directors William Webster and Robert Gates take issue with the way the agency targeted and killed an American citizen, militant Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Gates also takes issue with a form of attacks known as "signature strikes," the practice of targeting unnamed terrorist suspects. Former Director James Woolsey says the Obama administration is depriving itself of valuable intelligence. The president, he says "is killing more people than he needs to and we'd be better off capturing some of them and interrogating them."

THE SPYMASTERS also reveals a sharp division among the directors over the ethics of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques," a form of questioning suspected terrorists that President Obama has labeled "torture." Current CIA director John Brennan acknowledges for the first time that he would refuse to waterboard a detainee even if ordered by the President.

Mandy Patinkin is the narrator for THE SPYMASTERS. Patinkin currently stars in the Emmy and Golden Globe(R) Award-winning SHOWTIME series HOMELAND as the CIA's European Division Chief "Saul Berenson," for which he has been nominated for Golden Globe and Emmy Awards. Patinkin won a 1995 Emmy Award (as well as a Golden Globe nomination) for his performance in the CBS series Chicago Hope. He was in the SHOWTIME Original Series Dead Like Me as the reaper "Rube Sofer." His other television appearances include the SHOWTIME film Strange Justice, The Hunchback, a film version of Arthur Miller's Broken Glass, episodes of The Larry Sanders Show (1996 Emmy nomination), The Simpsons, and others. His feature film credits include: Wish I Was Here, The Wind Rises, Everyone's Hero, Choking Man, Pi�ero, The Adventure, Lulu On The Bridge, Men With Guns, The Princess Bride, Yentl (1984 Golden Globe nomination), The House On Carroll Street, True Colors and Maxie. Patinkin is known to audiences for his Broadway performances, including his Tony Award-winning role in Evita, and his Tony-nominated star turn in Sunday in the Park with George. Other memorable stage shows include The Secret Garden, his one-man show, Mandy Patinkin in Concert and his solo concerts, Dress Casual, Celebrating Sondheim and Mamaloshen. His most recent appearance on stage was The Last Two People on Earth: an Apocalyptic Vaudeville, co-starring Taylor Mac. In addition to his Broadway repertoire, Patinkin's stage credits include Compulsion, The Tempest, Enemy Of The People, Falsettos, The Winter's Tale, The Knife, Leave It To Beaver Is Dead, Hamlet, Trelawney Of The 'Wells, The Shadow Box, The Split, Savages and Henry IV, Part I. Patinkin's extensive concert career includes tours throughout the United States, Canada, London and Australia, and New Zealand, performing songs from writers including Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Randy Newman, Adam Guettel and Harry Chapin, among others.

Writer and executive producer Chris Whipple is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker, writer, journalist, and speaker. A multiple Peabody and Emmy Award-winning producer at CBS News 60 Minutes and ABC News PrimeTime, he is the chief executive officer of CCWHIP Productions. Whipple's previous film, The Presidents' Gatekeepers, a documentary on the modern White House chiefs of staff, aired to critical acclaim on the Discovery Channel in 2013. Whipple is writing a book about how the chiefs of staff determine the fate of every presidency. He was educated at Deerfield Academy andreceived a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in history from Yale College. He lives in New York City with his wife Cary and son Sam.

Jules and Gedeon Naudet, brothers and acclaimed filmmakers, are the film's directors and executive producers. The Naudet brothers shot, produced and directed the iconic CBS documentary 9/11, which has been compared, for its historical significance, to the Zapruder film of JFK's assassination. 9/11 won every honor in television, including Emmy, Peabody(R) and DuPont(R) awards. Jules and Gedeon produced and directed the CBS documentary special In God's Name, an extraordinary, intimate look at the lives of the world's twelve great religious leaders. Most recently, the Naudets produced and directed the Discovery Channel's four-hour series The Presidents' Gatekeepers, a riveting account of five decades of presidential history seen through the eyes of all twenty living White House chiefs of staff.

Executive producer Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer of the award-winning crime and justice series 48 HOURS. In addition to her work at 48 HOURS, Zirinsky serves as the senior executive producer for breaking news specials, such as those done in the aftermath of the Aurora, Colorado theater shootings, the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and the Boston Marathon bombings. Among her many prime-time credits is the award-winning broadcast 9/11, the 2013 short-run series Brooklyn DA and the 2015 special David Letterman: A Life on Television. Zirinsky's work has earned virtually every major journalism honor including multiple Emmy Awards, a George Foster Peabody award, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence, the Christopher Award, The Writers Guild of America award and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award. And, in 2013 she was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by the New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards.

Executive producer David Hume Kennerly won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for his photos of the Vietnam War, and then served as President Gerald R. Ford's personal photographer. He was named, "One of the 100 Most Important People in Photography" by American Photo Magazine. In 2015 Kennerly gave the commencement address at Lake Erie College, and was awarded an honorary PhD. This year he also received the Lucie Award honoring the greatest achievement in photography in photojournalism. Kennerly was a contributing editor for Newsweek, and a contributing photographer for Time and Life magazines. Kennerly has published several books of his work: Shooter, Photo Op, Seinoff: The Final Days of Seinfeld, Photo du Jour, Extraordinary Circumstances: The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford, and most recently, David Hume Kennerly On the iPhone. In 2009 he was a producer and principal photographer of Barack Obama: The Official Inaugural Book. Kennerly received a Primetime Emmy Best Picture nomination as executive producer of NBC's The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story. He was executive producer and co-writer of "Shooter," for NBC starring Helen Hunt, a movie that won the Emmy for Best Cinematography. He was producer of the Discovery Channel's miniseries, The Presidents' Gatekeepers about the White House chiefs of staff.

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 and Google. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Hulu and Sony PlayStation(R) Vue. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks(TM), a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel(TM). 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.





  [november 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





[06/02/26 - 01:17 PM]
FX's "The Drop: A Snowfall Saga" Set as New Title for Spinoff Series Coming Later This Year on FX and Hulu
Set in '90s Los Angeles, the new series follows "Snowfall" characters Wanda (Gail Bean) and Leon (Isaiah John) as they fight to take West Coast rap mainstream while gang wars erupt and record labels move to exploit hip hop culture for their own gain.

[06/02/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 25 - "The Boroughs" Makes Itself at Home at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nemesis" stole away with the No. 2 spot on the list, commanding 5.9 million views.

[06/02/26 - 12:00 PM]
FOX Announces Additional Summer 2026 Premiere Dates
Highlights include the return of "Kitchen Nightmares" on Tuesday, July 21 and "Beat Shazam" on Tuesday, July 28.

[06/02/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: BET Debuts Trailer and Announces Premiere Date for New Original Comedy Series, "Lot Patrol" from Manny Halley Productions
The series will premiere on BET on June 30, 2026 at 10 pm ET / 9 pm CT.

[06/02/26 - 09:29 AM]
Catch a New Season of "Lakefront Bargain Hunt Renovation" Premiering June 16 on Magnolia Network
With a bit of imagination and a lot of muscle, families transform their new vacation homes into the relaxing getaways they had always envisioned.

[06/02/26 - 09:21 AM]
BET Announces First-Ever Board of Advisors, Marking a New Era of Leadership and Cultural Stewardship
Established under the leadership of Louis Carr, President of BET, the Board brings together an influential collective of cultural icons, business leaders, and industry visionaries who will help guide BET's continued evolution as a force at the intersection of media, community, and culture.

[06/02/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders" - Season 3 Official Trailer - Netflix
A new batch of hopefuls face fierce competition, high expectations and even higher kicks as they vie for a spot with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

[06/02/26 - 08:30 AM]
Video: The Reign Ends Here - "All the Queen's Men" Reveals Trailer and First Look at Fifth and Final Season Premiering June 10 Only on Paramount+
The series will launch with two episodes, followed by a weekly rollout culminating in the mid-season finale on Wednesday, July 22.

[06/02/26 - 08:01 AM]
"Kaulitz & Kaulitz" Season 3 - Exclusively on Netflix from July 23, 2026
Germany's most popular twins once again take us along for the ride in their turbulent lives, sharing intimate moments, arguments, and scenes that go straight to the heart.

[06/02/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Tony Hinchcliffe: Man of the People" - Sneak Peek - Netflix
Tony Hinchcliffe returns with another brutally unapologetic hour from comedy's favorite equal-opportunity offender.

[06/02/26 - 07:01 AM]
"The Marlow Murder Club" Is Back in Action Filming Season 4
Season 3 premieres this fall on PBS.

[06/02/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Apple TV Unveils Trailer for Third Season of Its Globally Acclaimed Drama "Silo"
The 10-episode third season will premiere on Apple TV with the first episode on July 3, followed by one new episode every Friday through September 4, 2026.

[06/01/26 - 05:01 PM]
Video: "Husbands in Action" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A detective teams up with his ex-wife's new husband to chase down her kidnappers. Can this unlikely duo put aside their differences for one wild rescue?

[06/01/26 - 02:03 PM]
Exclusive Announcement Live From Crime Con 2026: Season 4 of the Hit Docuseries "Betrayal" to Stream on Hulu This August
In a room of thousands of fans of true crime and scandals, the team made a surprise exclusive announcement that Season 4 of the popular docuseries will stream on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for Bundle subscribers this August.

[06/01/26 - 02:02 PM]
"Squatters: Get the F*** Out of My House," A New Docuseries from Executive Producers Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, Begins Streaming June 4 on Hulu
The six-part series follows ordinary people blindsided by manipulators who know exactly how to weaponize tenant protections and turn the legal system against the very people it's supposed to protect.