# The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth

The Circus is an American documentary television series initially following the 2016 presidential race, the Trump administration, the 2020 United States presidential election, and then the Biden administration. It was produced by Left/Right Productions, a North Road company, for Showtime.
The docu-series premiered on January 17, 2016, and focused on the 2016 U.S. presidential election, January to November. It was renewed for a second season, which premiered on March 19, 2017, and focused on President Trump's first 100 days. It returned on April 15, 2018 for a third season, and focused on the mid-term elections, with CBS News anchor Alex Wagner stepping in as co-host to replace Mark Halperin, who was replaced on January 3, 2018, by the show, after sexual harassment allegations. Jennifer Palmieri joined as guest host beginning October 13, 2019, with season four episode twelve, Desperate Times, Desperate Measures, and joined as a permanent co-host in season 6.
The first half of the fifth season premiered on January 26, 2020. The second half of the fifth season premiered August 16, 2020. The sixth season premiered on January 10, 2021. The seventh season premiered on March 6, 2022. The second half of the seventh season premiered on September 25, 2022. The eighth and final season premiered on February 26, 2023.
On November 7, 2023, it was announced the series would come to an end after eight seasons, with the final episode airing on November 12, 2023.

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 26 | 26 | January 17, 2016 (2016-1-17) | November 13, 2016 (2016-11-13) |
| 2 | 8 | 8 | March 19, 2017 (2017-3-19) | May 7, 2017 (2017-5-7) |
| 3 | 15 | 15 | April 15, 2018 (2018-4-15) | November 11, 2018 (2018-11-11) |
| 4 | 16 | 16 | January 27, 2019 (2019-1-27) | November 10, 2019 (2019-11-10) |
| 5 | 21 | 21 | January 26, 2020 (2020-1-26) | November 8, 2020 (2020-11-8) |
| 6 | 16 | 16 | January 10, 2021 (2021-1-10) | November 7, 2021 (2021-11-7) |
| 7 | 16 | 16 | March 6, 2022 (2022-3-6) | November 13, 2022 (2022-11-13) |
| 8 | 12 | 12 | February 26, 2023 (2023-2-26) | November 12, 2023 (2023-11-12) |

### Season 1: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth (2016)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "The Outsiders" | January 17, 2016 (2016-1-17) |
| 2 | 2 | "Prisoner's Dilema" | January 24, 2016 (2016-1-24) |
| 3 | 3 | "Tension City" | January 31, 2016 (2016-1-31) |
| 4 | 4 | "The Big Mo" | February 7, 2016 (2016-2-7) |
| 5 | 5 | "The Winnowing" | February 14, 2016 (2016-2-14) |
| 6 | 6 | "Fear and Loathing" | February 21, 2016 (2016-2-21) |
| 7 | 7 | "Confidence Game" | February 28, 2016 (2016-2-28) |
| 8 | 8 | "The Reckoning" | March 6, 2016 (2016-3-6) |
| 9 | 9 | "Dead or Alive" | March 13, 2016 (2016-3-13) |
| 10 | 10 | "High Hopes" | March 20, 2016 (2016-3-20) |
| 11 | 11 | "Home and Abroad" | March 27, 2016 (2016-3-27) |
| 12 | 12 | "On, Wisconsin" | April 3, 2016 (2016-4-3) |
| 13 | 13 | "Recap" | April 10, 2016 (2016-4-10) |
| 14 | 14 | "Game On" | July 10, 2016 (2016-7-10) |
| 15 | 15 | "Veepstakes" | July 17, 2016 (2016-7-17) |
| 16 | 16 | "Trump Show" | July 24, 2016 (2016-7-24) |
| 17 | 17 | "In the Arena" | July 31, 2016 (2016-7-31) |
| 18 | 18 | "Closing the Gap" | September 11, 2016 (2016-9-11) |
| 19 | 19 | "Fit to Serve" | September 18, 2016 (2016-9-18) |
| 20 | 20 | "Battleground" | September 25, 2016 (2016-9-25) |
| 21 | 21 | "The Newsrooms" | October 2, 2016 (2016-10-2) |
| 22 | 22 | "Tale of the Tape" | October 16, 2016 (2016-10-16) |
| 23 | 23 | "From Russia With Love" | October 23, 2016 (2016-10-23) |
| 24 | 24 | "His Word as a Biden" | October 30, 2016 (2016-10-30) |
| 25 | 25 | "Nobody F***ing Knows" | November 6, 2016 (2016-11-6) |
| 26 | 26 | "President Trump" | November 13, 2016 (2016-11-13) |

### Season 2: Inside the Biggest Story on Earth (2017)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 27 | 1 | "Shocking But Not Surprising" | March 19, 2017 (2017-3-19) |
| 28 | 2 | "Checking and Balancing" | March 26, 2017 (2017-3-26) |
| 29 | 3 | "How's He Doing?" | April 2, 2017 (2017-4-2) |
| 30 | 4 | "The Whole World Is Watching" | April 9, 2017 (2017-4-9) |
| 31 | 5 | "Recess Reset" | April 16, 2017 (2017-4-16) |
| 32 | 6 | "The Resistance" | April 23, 2017 (2017-4-23) |
| 33 | 7 | "Learning Curve" | April 30, 2017 (2017-4-30) |
| 34 | 8 | "Looking Back and Moving On" | May 7, 2017 (2017-5-7) |

### Season 3: Inside the Wildest Political Show on Earth (2018)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 35 | 1 | "The Looking Glass War" | April 15, 2018 (2018-4-15) |
| 36 | 2 | "Too Many Lawyers" | April 22, 2018 (2018-4-22) |
| 37 | 3 | "Man of the World" | April 29, 2018 (2018-4-29) |
| 38 | 4 | "Trump Country" | May 6, 2018 (2018-5-6) |
| 39 | 5 | "War and Peace" | May 13, 2018 (2018-5-13) |
| 40 | 6 | "Their Brand Is Crisis" | May 20, 2018 (2018-5-20) |
| 41 | 7 | "The Gathering Storm" | September 16, 2018 (2018-9-16) |
| 42 | 8 | "Burden of Proof" | September 23, 2018 (2018-9-23) |
| 43 | 9 | "Judgment Day" | September 30, 2018 (2018-9-30) |
| 44 | 10 | "The Verdict" | October 7, 2018 (2018-10-7) |
| 45 | 11 | "California Dreaming" | October 14, 2018 (2018-10-14) |
| 46 | 12 | "Senatorial Combat" | October 21, 2018 (2018-10-21) |
| 47 | 13 | "Black and White" | October 28, 2018 (2018-10-28) |
| 48 | 14 | "A Place Called Fear" | November 4, 2018 (2018-11-4) |
| 49 | 15 | "Mother(F***er) of All Midterms" | November 11, 2018 (2018-11-11) |

### Season 4: Inside the Wildest Political Show on Earth (2019)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 50 | 1 | "New World Disorder" | January 27, 2019 (2019-1-27) |
| 51 | 2 | "Circling Vultures" | February 3, 2019 (2019-2-3) |
| 52 | 3 | "The State of Our Union Is…" | February 10, 2019 (2019-2-10) |
| 53 | 4 | "2020 Is Here" | February 17, 2019 (2019-2-17) |
| 54 | 5 | "States of Emergency" | February 24, 2019 (2019-2-24) |
| 55 | 6 | "The Big Split" | March 3, 2019 (2019-3-3) |
| 56 | 7 | "To the Left" | March 10, 2019 (2019-3-10) |
| 57 | 8 | "What the F... Happens Next?" | March 17, 2019 (2019-3-17) |
| 58 | 9 | "The People on That Stage" | September 22, 2019 (2019-9-22) |
| 59 | 10 | "Across the Rubicon" | September 29, 2019 (2019-9-29) |
| 60 | 11 | "Impeachmentland" | October 6, 2019 (2019-10-6) |
| 61 | 12 | "Desperate Times, Desperate Measures" | October 13, 2019 (2019-10-13) |
| 62 | 13 | "The Widening Gyre" | October 20, 2019 (2019-10-20) |
| 63 | 14 | "The Deep State" | October 27, 2019 (2019-10-27) |
| 64 | 15 | "Field of Dreams" | November 3, 2019 (2019-11-3) |
| 65 | 16 | "Here Be Dragons" | November 10, 2019 (2019-11-10) |

### Season 5: Inside the Craziest Political Campaign on Earth (2020)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 66 | 1 | "Obligations and Opportunities" | January 26, 2020 (2020-1-26) |
| 67 | 2 | "Closing Arguments" | February 2, 2020 (2020-2-2) |
| 68 | 3 | "Clusterf**k" | February 9, 2020 (2020-2-9) |
| 69 | 4 | "Unfinished Business" | February 16, 2020 (2020-2-16) |
| 70 | 5 | "What Happens in Vegas" | February 23, 2020 (2020-2-23) |
| 71 | 6 | "On the Boil" | March 1, 2020 (2020-3-1) |
| 72 | 7 | "Super Duper Tuesday" | March 8, 2020 (2020-3-8) |
| 73 | 8 | "The Cruelest Month" | March 15, 2020 (2020-3-15) |
| 74 | 9 | "The New Abnormal" | August 16, 2020 (2020-8-16) |
| 75 | 10 | "Unconventional" | August 23, 2020 (2020-8-23) |
| 76 | 11 | "Party of One" | August 30, 2020 (2020-8-30) |
| 77 | 12 | "Law and Disorder" | September 6, 2020 (2020-9-6) |
| 78 | 13 | "Going Postal" | September 13, 2020 (2020-9-13) |
| 79 | 14 | "Force Majeure" | September 20, 2020 (2020-9-20) |
| 80 | 15 | "Full Court Press" | September 27, 2020 (2020-9-27) |
| 81 | 16 | "October Surprise" | October 4, 2020 (2020-10-4) |
| 82 | 17 | "Crisis Mismanagement" | October 11, 2020 (2020-10-11) |
| 83 | 18 | "Steal This Election" | October 18, 2020 (2020-10-18) |
| 84 | 19 | "End Games" | October 25, 2020 (2020-10-25) |
| 85 | 20 | "Landslide?" | November 1, 2020 (2020-11-1) |
| 86 | 21 | "Who the F... Are We?" | November 8, 2020 (2020-11-8) |

### Season 6: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth (2021)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 87 | 1 | "Reigning Chaos" | January 10, 2021 (2021-1-10) |
| 88 | 2 | "Clear and Present Danger" | January 17, 2021 (2021-1-17) |
| 89 | 3 | "President Biden" | January 24, 2021 (2021-1-24) |
| 90 | 4 | "Rubber Meets Road" | January 31, 2021 (2021-1-31) |
| 91 | 5 | "Dysfunction Junction" | February 7, 2021 (2021-2-7) |
| 92 | 6 | "Persona Non Grata" | February 14, 2021 (2021-2-14) |
| 93 | 7 | "Being Green" | February 21, 2021 (2021-2-21) |
| 94 | 8 | "Points on the Board" | February 28, 2021 (2021-2-28) |
| 95 | 9 | "Calling the Shots" | September 19, 2021 (2021-9-19) |
| 96 | 10 | "The Biden Doctrine" | September 26, 2021 (2021-9-26) |
| 97 | 11 | "It's All Happening" | October 3, 2021 (2021-10-3) |
| 98 | 12 | "Lone Star Blues" | October 10, 2021 (2021-10-10) |
| 99 | 13 | "Coup Part Two" | October 17, 2021 (2021-10-17) |
| 100 | 14 | "Virginia Is For..." | October 24, 2021 (2021-10-24) |
| 101 | 15 | "Big F...ing Deal" | October 31, 2021 (2021-10-31) |
| 102 | 16 | "The Broken Place" | November 7, 2021 (2021-11-7) |

### Season 7: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth (2022)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 103 | 1 | "On the Brink" | March 6, 2022 (2022-3-6) |
| 104 | 2 | "The Escalation Ladder" | March 13, 2022 (2022-3-13) |
| 105 | 3 | "The Information War" | March 20, 2022 (2022-3-20) |
| 106 | 4 | "The Nuclear Option" | March 27, 2022 (2022-3-27) |
| 107 | 5 | "The Home Front" | April 3, 2022 (2022-4-3) |
| 108 | 6 | "There Will Be Blood" | April 10, 2022 (2022-4-10) |
| 109 | 7 | "Keystone Chaos" | April 17, 2022 (2022-4-17) |
| 110 | 8 | "Tip of the Spear" | April 24, 2022 (2022-4-24) |
| 111 | 9 | "Not in Kansas Anymore" | September 25, 2022 (2022-9-25) |
| 112 | 10 | "Rule of Law" | October 2, 2022 (2022-10-2) |
| 113 | 11 | "State of Denial" | October 9, 2022 (2022-10-9) |
| 114 | 12 | "Buckeyes and Bulldogs" | October 16, 2022 (2022-10-16) |
| 115 | 13 | "This Land Is Greene-Land" | October 23, 2022 (2022-10-23) |
| 116 | 14 | "The Main Event" | October 30, 2022 (2022-10-30) |
| 117 | 15 | "Here Comes the Flood" | November 6, 2022 (2022-11-6) |
| 118 | 16 | "Rip Tides" | November 13, 2022 (2022-11-13) |

### Season 8: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth (2023)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 119 | 1 | "The Year of Living Dangerously" | February 26, 2023 (2023-2-26) |
| 120 | 2 | "Off to the Races" | March 5, 2023 (2023-3-5) |
| 121 | 3 | "Kevin's House" | March 12, 2023 (2023-3-12) |
| 122 | 4 | "Fake News?" | March 19, 2023 (2023-3-19) |
| 123 | 5 | "Wheels of Justice" | March 26, 2023 (2023-3-26) |
| 124 | 6 | "Nothing But the Truth" | April 2, 2023 (2023-4-2) |
| 125 | 7 | "Exhaustion, Depression and Dread...Oy Vey" | October 8, 2023 (2023-10-8) |
| 126 | 8 | "Piercing the Bubble" | October 15, 2023 (2023-10-15) |
| 127 | 9 | "The Crucible" | October 22, 2023 (2023-10-22) |
| 128 | 10 | "This Thing of His" | October 29, 2023 (2023-10-29) |
| 129 | 11 | "The AI Election" | November 5, 2023 (2023-11-5) |
| 130 | 12 | "Life During Wartime" | November 12, 2023 (2023-11-12) |

## Reception

The Circus received generally positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 has a rating of 75%, based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The consensus reads: "The Circus reveals a more human side of the candidates and paints a clear picture of how grueling life can be on the campaign trail, yet the show fails to provide the type of candid analysis and discourse it alludes to during this incredibly unique and cantankerous election cycle." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 5 reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".