NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Sundance Channel announced Thursday it will air "Tanner '88," the political satire created by director Robert Altman and cartoonist Garry Trudeau.
The series, which ran on HBO in 1988, starred Michael Murphy as Jack Tanner, a fictitious Democratic candidate for president. The series featured appearances by real-life politicians including Bob Dole and Gary Hart.
The Oscar-nominated Altman and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Trudeau have brought Murphy back for a series of short films in which Tanner reflects on 1988 from a contemporary point-of-view. The shorts also star Pamela Reed, who played the candidate's campaign manager, and Cynthia Nixon, who played his daughter.
Paola Freccero, Sundance Channel senior vice president of film programming, said the 2004 presidential campaign provides a timely opportunity to revisit the miniseries.
"Then as now, there was a huge slate of Democrats vying for their party's nomination," said Freccero. "Then as now, the Democrats were attempting to defeat a Bush in the White House. We feel certain that the humor and political insight of 'Tanner '88' will resonate with today's audiences as much as it did 15 years ago."
The miniseries will air on Sundance Channel on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. from Feb. 3 through April 13.
