HBO turns Trump election victory into miniseries, Tom Hanks produces

Tom Hanks is signed up to produce an HBO miniseries about the last US presidential election. Image: AFP/Andrew Cowie

Almost two months after Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House, the United States cable chain has announced an upcoming miniseries based on the 2016 American presidential campaign, with Tom Hanks signed up to produce.

HBO has previous experience when it comes to election-themed productions. The network’s 2008 TV movie “Recount” explored the 2000 U.S. election, which saw George W. Bush defeat Al Gore. Four years later, the HBO film “Game Change” focused on the campaign of Republican candidate John McCain and his vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Other than their theme, the films have something else in common with the upcoming miniseries, as Jay Roach has once again been signed up to direct. Roach is an HBO regular who has directed various projects for the network, including last year’s “All The Way”, a political TV movie about U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. The film starred Bryan Cranston, who previously featured in Jay Roach’s movie “Dalton Trumbo”.

Another similarity is that the miniseries is once again based on a book by journalists Mark Halperin and John Heileman, due out early 2018 in the U.S. As yet, no screenwriter has been named to work on the TV adaptation. “Recount” and “Game Change” were penned by Danny Strong, co-creator of the series “Empire” and screenwriter on the last two “Hunger Games” movies.

It also remains to be seen which actors will be stepping into the shoes of Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for the small-screen series. Could Alec Baldwin, who has often parodied the current U.S. President in the TV show “Saturday Night Live” be ready to accept the role? And which actress could play his rival, who will also be portrayed in the third season of “American Crime Story” focusing on the Monica Lewinsky affair, a scandal that curtailed Bill Clinton’s presidency and affected his family in the 1990s?

HBO has previously enlisted Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Ed Harris and Sarah Paulson to relive the 2000 and 2008 presidential elections in TV format. JB