CNN Originals Unveils Summer Programming Slate with Three New CNN Original Series
NEW YORK - (May 1, 2025) - Building on CNN Originals success providing new insights to historical and cultural events, CNN announced today a trifecta of summer programming featuring an exciting slate of pop culture explorations. The new CNN Original Series include American Prince: JFK Jr., which premieres Saturday, August 9, along with Live Aid: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On the World and Billionaire Boys Club, both of which premiere on Sunday, July 13.
"All three of these series evoke a very specific time and place and will transport our viewers back to iconic historical moments from within their lifetimes," said Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development. "Collectively, these stories make up a summer of nostalgia from CNN Original Series, encompassing the seedy underbelly of 1980s Los Angeles, an American dynasty in transition in the 1990s, and one of the most significant events in music history in 1985."
Series descriptions are as follows:
American Prince: JFK Jr. | Premieres Saturday, August 9 at 10pm ET/PT
The remarkable life and enduring legacy of John F. Kennedy Jr. are explored in this three-part original series. American Prince: JFK Jr. traces his early years marked by his father's assassination and the societal and familial pressures to carry the Kennedy torch, through his decision to create George, a new kind of political magazine within the rapidly evolving media landscape of the 90s. It also reveals the love story he shared with Carolyn Bessette, which was relentlessly targeted by media attention. Executive producers for American Prince: JFK Jr. are Ian Orefice and Jon Adler for EverWonder Studio along with Amy Entelis, Lyle Gamm and Katie Hinman for CNN Original Series. Gary Ginsberg is Consulting Producer.
Live Aid: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On the World | Premieres Sunday, July 13 at 9pm ET/PT
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, this four-part series tells the definitive story of how two rockstars inspired the largest global music events in history. Their inspiration sparked a remarkable social movement, raising tens of billions of dollars. Featuring interviews with iconic figures including Bob Geldof, Bono, Sting, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins and Lionel Richie along with global leaders including George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, President Obasanjo and Tony Blair, the series also includes rare archival footage of performances and backstage with Paula Yates, Boy George, Status Quo and George Michael. Live Aid is a co-production with the BBC, produced by Brook Lapping, a Zinc Media label, in association with Ronachan Films. Live Aid is Executive Produced by Tanya Shaw and Norma Percy, Series Produced by Angus Macqueen, and Directed by Tom Pollard. Executive producers for CNN Original Series are Amy Entelis and Lyle Gamm.
Billionaire Boys Club | Premieres Sunday, July 13 at 10pm ET/PT
In the greed-fueled landscape of 1980s Los Angeles, a group of young, ambitious men set out to make their fortune - but their lavish dreams quickly spiral into a web of deception, fraud, and murder. Produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio (UTAS), Billionaire Boys Club unpacks the rise and fall of Joe Hunt and the exclusive investment group comprised of privileged 20-somethings whose schemes and crimes captivated the media. In an era where fraud and deception have become status quo, Billionaire Boys Club serves as a chilling cautionary tale - revealing what happens when ambition becomes obsession, and a mansion-sized empire is nothing more than a house of cards waiting to collapse. Emmy(R) Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Star Price (United Shades of America, Penn & Teller: Bullshit!) serves as showrunner and executive producer of Billionaire Boys Club. Award-winning producers Adam Kassen (Homicide: New York, Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler) and Liz Yale Marsh (Little Richard: I Am Everything, Face to Face with Scott Peterson), both under overall deals at UTAS, also executive produce along with Amy Entelis and Lyle Gamm for CNN Original Series.
American Prince: JFK Jr., The Billionaire Boys Club, and Live Aid will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps. They will also be available on demand to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps, and Cable Operator Platforms.
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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. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 60 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; Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid directed by Matt Tyrnauer; 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; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; the Emmy(R) Award winning Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; Luther Vandross: Never Too Much, directed by Dawn Porter; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; 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; This is Life with Lisa Ling; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; the five-time Emmy(R) Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; the American version of the long-running UK comedy series, Have I Got News For You, hosted by Roy Wood Jr; and the five-time Emmy(R) Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, the CNN Original Hub on Max and discovery+, the CNN Originals FAST channel, and for pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
About Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world's most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, Max, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Film Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.
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