It’s easy to forget among the noise of toxicity, cultural division, polarized memes, and bad blood, that the people bringing us 24/7 news are just that, people. The new CNN Films documentary “On The Trail: Inside The 2020 Primaries” silences the rhetoric to reveal what it really takes for lead political reporters to deliver stories. Set against the 2020 primaries, the account of major female figures at the network also shows the unseen toll on personal lives.
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CNN offered unprecedented access to their coverage, going out of their way to include names news junkies and casual viewers alike have come to know. Dana Bash, Kaitlan Collins, Jessica Dean, Daniella Diaz, Annie Grayer, Kyung Lah, MJ Lee, Abby Phillip, Arlette Saenz, and Jasmine Wright all appear in the documentary. All agreed to show the ups as well as the downs that come with their pivotal work. By focusing on the superstar female team the film also exposes the lingering myths they have to endure, while receiving what seems to be a larger amount of criticism than their male counterparts.
The film is the first joint collaboration between CNN Films and HBO Max. Executive vice president for talent and content development at CNN Worldwide, Amy Entelis, is one of the executive producers along with CNN Films Senior Vice President Courtney Sexton, Special Programming Executive Producer Katie Hinman and documentarian Toby Oppenheimer. “Katie Hinman and Toby Oppenheimer have made a remarkable film that offers a unique and compelling experience for the viewer, delivering on our goal to make high-quality documentaries for HBO Max,” Entelis said of the project. Oppenheimer is an especially interesting choice for the documentary; he comes to the project with extensive experience in non-fiction titles. His most notable TV contributions include episodes of “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” and the televised documentary “The Nine Lives of Marion Barry.”
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“On The Trail: Inside The 2020 Primaries” premieres August 6th on HBO Max. Watch the first trailer for the documentary below.
