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The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
26 Episodes 2016 - 2016
Episode 1
The Outsiders
Sun, Jan 17, 201628 mins
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.
Episode 2
Prisoner's Dilemma
Sun, Jan 24, 201628 mins
Sen. Marco Rubio, Gov. Chris Christie, former Gov. Jeb Bush and Gov. John Kasich prepare for the all-important, first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire.
Episode 3
Tension City
Sun, Jan 31, 201628 mins
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.
Episode 4
The Big Mo
Sun, Feb 7, 201628 mins
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?
Episode 5
The Winnowing
Sun, Feb 14, 201628 mins
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.
Episode 6
Fear and Loathing
Sun, Feb 21, 201628 mins
Anxiety grows about how high the stakes are in Nevada and South Carolina.
Episode 7
Confidence Game
Sun, Feb 28, 201628 mins
Down to The Big Five, all eyes are on the upcoming prize: Super Tuesday.
Episode 8
The Reckoning
Sun, Mar 6, 201628 mins
With big wins for the front-runners 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?
Episode 9
Dead or Alive
Sun, Mar 13, 201628 mins
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?
Episode 10
High Hopes
Sun, Mar 20, 201627 mins
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?
Episode 11
Home and Abroad
Sun, Mar 27, 201628 mins
As foreign policy comes to the fore can Trump and Clinton handle the heat?
Episode 12
On, Wisconsin
Sun, Apr 3, 201629 mins
Before a showdown in Wisconsin, candidates travel the state to pursue competing agendas; Kasich, Cruz and Sanders seek to secure their positions as spoilers.
Episode 13
Circus Recap
Sun, Apr 10, 201628 mins
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.
Episode 14
Game On
Sun, Jul 10, 201629 mins
While the nation celebrates July 4, 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.
Episode 15
Veepstakes
Sun, Jul 17, 201628 mins
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?
Episode 16
The Trump Show
Sun, Jul 24, 201629 mins
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?
Episode 17
In the Arena
Sun, Jul 31, 201630 mins
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?
Episode 18
Closing the Gap
Sun, Sep 11, 201629 mins
Examines the race, which has tightened significantly in the weeks, as it enters the final stage of the election with less than 60 days to go. It also examines third party candidate Governor Gary Johnson and the "Allepo" gaffe.
Episode 19
Fit to Serve
Sun, Sep 18, 201628 mins
As Clinton's pneumonia and scrutiny about Trump's medical records comes to the forefront, their fitness to lead is questioned.
Episode 20
Battleground
Sun, Sep 25, 201628 mins
As Clinton and Trump prepare for their first debate, their campaigns target the swing states with an eye on Florida.
Episode 21
Newsrooms
Sun, Oct 2, 201629 mins
Preparations for the debate; the candidates cede the spotlight to those who cover the political news.
Episode 22
Tale of the Tape
Sun, Oct 16, 201628 mins
The fallout from the second debate and the current scandal surrounding a recently publicized audio tape.
Episode 23
From Russia with Love
Sun, Oct 23, 201628 mins
Amid claims of foreign intervention, international espionage and widespread hacking, Clinton faces what might turn out to be her toughest opponent to date: WikiLeaks, and the trove of highly sensitive, private emails it's made public.
Episode 24
His Word as a Biden
Sun, Oct 30, 201628 mins
The final two-week push going into the election sees the full weight of the White House come out in force for Clinton's campaign, including one man who has the potential to swing those states still up for grabs: Joe Biden.
Episode 25
Nobody Fucking Knows
Sun, Nov 6, 201627 mins
The first real-time documentary series about an American presidential campaign returns, going behind the scenes as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump battle it out in the final stretch to the election. Political journalists Mark Halperin, John Heilemann and media advisor Mark McKinnon pull back the curtain to take viewers inside the fiercest competition on earth - where the ultimate prize is the most powerful office in the world.
Episode 26
President Trump
Sun, Nov 13, 201658 mins
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. Season Finale.
