"THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE WILDEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH" RETURNS TO SHOWTIME(R) ON JANUARY 27

Groundbreaking Political Documentary Series Goes Behind The Scenes In Washington And On The Campaign Trail As Newly Empowered House Democrats And 2020 Hopefuls Take On President Trump

LOS ANGELES - January 4, 2019 - THE CIRCUS returns for its highly-anticipated fourth season on Sunday, January 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME, as Democrats take control of the House of Representatives and 2020 hopefuls begin to plot their presidential bids.

Hosted by John Heilemann, Mark McKinnon, and Alex Wagner, THE CIRCUS will venture behind the scenes in Washington and beyond, exploring the shifting power dynamics on Capitol Hill as Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, along with covering the escalating drama around President Donald Trump's White House as it grapples with mounting legal entanglements and continued scrutiny from Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

With the 2020 presidential race already taking shape, the series will also follow the burgeoning field of Trump challengers as they make their initial forays on the campaign trail. For a look at THE CIRCUS, go to:

After covering the historic midterm elections and the convulsive Brett Kavanaugh confirmation to the Supreme Court, THE CIRCUS completed its third season with an hour-long finale Sunday, November 11. John Heilemann, Mark McKinnon, Alex Wagner, Banks Tarver, Ken Druckerman, Ted Bourne, and Tom Johnson serve as executive producers.

John Heilemann has covered politics, business and their intersection for 25 years in the U.S. and abroad. He is currently National Affairs Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, where he appears regularly on Morning Joe, The Last Word, The 11th Hour, Deadline: White House and other shows. During the 2016 election cycle, he served as co-managing editor of Bloomberg Politics and co-host of With All Due Respect on MSNBC and Bloomberg TV. Previously, he was national affairs editor at New York Magazine and a staff writer for The New Yorker, Wired and The Economist. Heilemann is a co-author of The New York Times No. 1 bestsellers Game Change and Double Down: Game Change 2012. The first Game Change book was adapted into a movie of the same name, which went on to win five Emmy(R) Awards, three Golden Globes(R) and a Peabody Award.

Mark McKinnon is a political advisor, reform advocate, media columnist and television producer. He was the chief media adviser to five successful presidential primary and general election campaigns and is cofounder of No Labels, an organization dedicated to bipartisanship, civil dialogue and political problem solving. McKinnon has worked for many causes, companies and candidates, including former President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, late Governor Ann Richards and Bono.

Alex Wagner is currently a national correspondent at CBS News, a contributing editor at The Atlantic and co-host of their weekly news and affairs podcast, Radio Atlantic. In April, she released her first book, Futureface, which examines questions about American identity and immigration in the 21st century. Previously, Wagner hosted the Emmy(R) nominated MSNBC political affairs program NOW with Alex Wagner. Before joining MSNBC, Wagner was a reporter with the Huffington Post, where she covered innovation in the American economy, investigating the intersection of business, politics and new technology. Prior to this, she served as the White House correspondent for Politics Daily and the Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning FADER magazine.

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 Amazon, Apple(R), Google, LG Smart TVs, Oculus Go, Roku(R), Samsung Smart TVs and Xbox One. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Amazon's Prime Video Channels, DirecTV Now, FuboTV, Hulu, Sling TV, Sony PlayStation(TM) Vue, and YouTube TV. Viewers can also watch on computers at Showtime.com. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks(TM), a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel(TM) and Smithsonian Channel Plus(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.