Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 election has inspired a wave of creativity in Hollywood, including a spate of shows and movies inspired by the real estate-magnate-turned-reality TV star-turned president of the United States.
Law & Order: SVU
Shortly before the November election, NBC decided to shelve a “Law & Order: SVU” episode inspired by Donald Trump. Titled “Unstoppable,” the episode stars Gary Cole as a presidential hopeful thwarted by multiple sexual assault allegations. Executive producer Dick Wolf recently said he “suspects” the episode will air in May, but it has yet to be scheduled.
Trump: It Happened Here
Political reporter Scott Conroy has written a dramatized version of the Donald Trump campaign, chronicling Trump’s rise from real estate mogul to reality TV star, and eventually president. The unproduced script also reportedly features “The Apprentice” producer Mark Burnett, CNN’s Jeff Zucker, and Trump allies Steven Bannon, Hope Hicks and Corey Lewandowski.
American Horror Story Season 7
Ryan Murphy revealed on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” that the next installment of his anthology series “American Horror Story” will tackle the 2016 election, but declined to reveal further details.
The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth
Throughout much of the 2016 campaign, Showtime aired a weekly documentary series giving a behind-the-scenes look at the race, featuring John Heilemann and Mark Halperin of Bloomberg Politics and and former campaign strategist Mark McKinnon.
Trumped: Inside the Greatest Political Upset of All Time
After Trump’s surprise victory, directors Ted Bourne, Mary Robertson, and Banks Tarver went through the thousands of hours of footage shot for “The Circus,” to create a feature documentary that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.
Nobody Speak
Another documentary which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, “Nobody Speak” examines the Peter Thiel-funded lawsuit that bankrupted Gawker Media and shuttered the company’s title blog. Given Thiel’s role as a Trump advisor, the film also casts a suspicious eye toward the new administration’s combative relationship with the press.
The Builder
The Black List released its annual list of the best unproduced screenplays back in December, and among them was Tom Cartier’s “The Builder,” which dramatizes the life of a young Donald Trump as he undergoes his first Manhattan real estate deal. The script also examines his relationships with his troubled older brother, Freddy, and fixer Roy Cohn.
Michael Moore in Trumpland
Director Michael Moore, an outspoken Trump critic, released a surprise film back in October. The film featured a taped performance of Moore’s live stage show in Wilmington, Ohio.
Expect many more Trump-related films and TV shows. A Fox executive told TheWrap in January that Hollywood is bracing for a flood of pitches about The Donald.
