''Tanner '88'' is a political

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

written by

Garry Trudeau Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born July 21, 1948) is an American cartoonist best known for creating the ''Doonesbury'' comic strip. Trudeau won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1975, making him the first comic strip artist to win a ...

and directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

. First broadcast by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

during the months leading up to the

1988 U.S. presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 1988. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's ticket of incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush and Indiana Senator Da ...

, it purports to tell the behind-the-scenes story of the campaign of fictitious former Michigan U.S. Representative Jack Tanner, played by Michael Murphy, during his bid to secure the Democratic Party's nomination for

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. The story is told from a number of different points of view, including Tanner, his campaign staff, the small army of news reporters that constantly follow the candidate, and volunteers. Many political figures of the time appear (some in cameos, some extended), including Bruce Babbitt,

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

Kitty Dukakis Katharine Dickson Dukakis ( ; Maiden and married names, née Dickson; December 26, 1936 – March 21, 2025) was an American author and activist for various social causes. She served as the First Lady of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and 1983 t ...

, Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson, and Pat Robertson. Trudeau and Altman revisited the story 16 years later in '' Tanner on Tanner''.

Plot summary

Former U.S. Representative Jack Tanner of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

( Michael Murphy) is an obscure liberal Democratic politician who struggles to find a voice in the early 1988 Democratic primaries. His campaign manager, T.J. Cavanaugh ( Pamela Reed), uses an unscripted, impassioned hotel-room speech caught on camera as part of an advertising campaign focusing on Tanner's authenticity and integrity. Using the slogan "For Real", Tanner emerges from a wide field of contenders to battle for the nomination against two high-profile and better-funded candidates: Jesse Jackson and eventual nominee Massachusetts Governor

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis ( ; born November 3, 1933) is an American politician and lawyer who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the s ...

. With Tanner are his college-aged daughter Alexandra (

Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supportin ...

), whose illness was why he earlier left politics and who has left college for the duration of the campaign, and his girlfriend Joanna Buckley ( Wendy Crewson), Dukakis' deputy campaign manager. Others who appear on camera are Emile Berkoff ( Jim Fyfe), a compulsive statistician with a crush on Alexandra; Deke Conners ( Matt Malloy), an East Village filmmaker hired to produce Tanner campaign ads; and Andrea Spinelli ( Ilana Levine), T.J.'s innocent and ditzy but well-meaning assistant. The candidate's father, General John Tanner ( E.G. Marshall), who has a contentious relationship with his son, also occasionally appears. Although Tanner does not win the nomination, he does run a serious and credible race. The series ends on a

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...

after Dukakis officially becomes the Democratic candidate and Tanner considers a third party/independent run in '88.

Cast

* Michael Murphy as Fmr.

U.S. Congressman Jack Tanner * Pamela Reed as T.J. Cavanaugh *

as Alexandra "Alex" Tanner * Kevin J. O'Connor as Hayes Taggerty * Daniel Jenkins as Stringer Kincaid * Jim Fyfe as Emile Berkoff * Matt Malloy as Deke Conners * Ilana Levine as Andrea Spinelli * Sandra Bowie as Stevie Chevalier * Greg Procaccino as Barney Kittman * Veronica Cartwright as Molly Hart * Richard Cox as David Seidelman * Frank Barhydt as Frank Gattling * Wendy Crewson as Joanna Buckley * E.G. Marshall as U.S. Gen. John Tanner

Also appearing

* Cleavon Little as

The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Billy Crier * Harry Anderson as Billy Ridenhour * John Considine as Duke Crodian * Robert Gerringer as Farmer Bob * Patricia Falkenhain as Mrs. Bob * Jeff Daniels as Park Ranger * David Allen Grier as Secret Serviceman * Ned Bellamy as Secret Serviceman * Julius Carry as Secret Serviceman * Cameron Thor as Secret Serviceman * Betty Lee Bogue as Quilt Show Owner * Stephen Altman as Rogan

Cameo appearances

* Fmr. Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt as Self *

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

First Lady

as Self * Fmr.

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

U.S. Senator Gary Hart as Self *

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

U.S. Senator

as Self (uncredited) *

Jesse Jackson as Self (uncredited) *

Pat Robertson as Self (uncredited) *

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

as Self * Danny Darst as Self * John Cowan as Self * Lorianne Crook as Self * Charlie Chase as Self * Rebecca De Mornay as Self * Linda Ellerbee as Self * Mary McGrory as Self *

Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...

as Self *

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American author and retired network television journalist. He first served as the co-anchor of Today (American TV program), ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anch ...

as Self * Sidney Blumenthal as Self * Peter Edelman as Self * Bob Squier as Self * Dorothy Sarnoff as Self * Patricia Derian as Self * Lynne Russell as Self * Randall Robinson as Self * G. David Hughes as Self * Michigan Governor James J. Blanchard as Self *

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker as Self *

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland as Self *

U.S. Congressman

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...

as Self * Fmr. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Hodding Carter III as Self * Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Ed Murray as Self * Tennessee State Representative Lois DeBerry as Self * Tennessee State Representative Robert S. Stallings as Self * Tennessee State Representative Thomas C. Wheeler as Self * Joan Cushing as Self * New Grass Revival as Themselves * The Danny Darst Band as Themselves * Harlow as Themselves

Tanner's cabinet nominees

Several members of Tanner's prospective cabinet are mentioned, with several making statements to the press accepting the appointment should he become president. Those mentioned include:Episode 9: "Something Borrowed, Something New" * Lee H. Hamilton, prospective Secretary of State (on-screen cameo) *

Lee Iacocca Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive who developed the Ford Mustang, Lincoln Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, and then reviv ...

, prospective Secretary of Defense *

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

, prospective

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

(on-screen cameo) *

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

, prospective Secretary of the Interior * Jim Hightower, prospective Secretary of Agriculture * Studs Terkel, prospective Secretary of Labor (on-screen cameo) *

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem ( ; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social movement, social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...

, prospective Secretary of Health and Human Services (on-screen cameo) * Joan Claybrook, prospective Secretary of Transportation * Nicholas von Hoffman, prospective

Chairman of the Federal Reserve The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chairman presides at meetings of the Board. ...

* Barbara Jordan, prospective Ambassador to the United Nations * Art Buchwald, prospective Ambassador to France (on-screen cameo)

Episodes

Home media

The miniseries was produced and first broadcast on

, scheduled irregularly over the real-life seven-month campaigning period from February through August 1988. In 2004, the Sundance Channel rebroadcast the series, adding new one- to two-minute preludes created by Trudeau and Altman to each episode "in which the actors reflect, in character, on the '88 campaign from the perspective of the present day". That October, Sundance produced a four episode sequel, ''Tanner on Tanner''. In 2020, ''Tanner '88'' was added to

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

. As of 2025, the series is also available for streaming through the Criterion Channel.

Production

The hybrid of fiction and reality that came to be the miniseries' trademark was initially accidental. Trudeau described the concept behind the miniseries as wanting to "let the audience feel they're eavesdropping, to create a sense of authenticity by observing the process, to follow campaign culture in all its tribal rites—not to make a topical movie about 1988." ''Tanner'' evolved during production, becoming, as Altman put it, "two-thirds scripted and one-third found art". Trudeau and Altman intended to make more episodes, but HBO did not extend the run of the series.

Reception and influence

Reviews for the miniseries seem to improve over time. In one of the earliest reviews of the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called the show an "interesting misfire" that "insists too much on its own sophistication about politics". The same paper held the second episode in higher esteem, calling it "humorous cinéma vérité" that's "slick and occasionally witty". In its "Best of 1988" look at television, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine called it: "the year's definitive satire of media politics". In a 2003 review of '' K Street'', the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'' said "''Tanner'' skewer brilliantly the insanity and inanity of presidential politics". By 2004, ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'' was saying: While the two shows are stylistically very different, Aaron Sorkin has acknowledged that ''Tanner'' had an influence on ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...

'', which he created over a decade later, in its underlying idealism and in its view of political staffers as people who at least struggle to do the right thing. In 2004, Altman said "I think it's the most creative work I've ever done." In 2019, Murphy appeared as Jack Tanner in the documentary, '' Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese''.

Awards

Altman won a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the episode "The Boiler Room". Reed won an ACE Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series.

References

External links

*
''Tanner ’88: Robert Altman's Best, For Real''
an essay by Michael Wilmington at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...

{{Robert Altman 1988 American television series debuts 1988 American television series endings 1980s American satirical television series American English-language television shows HBO original programming Films directed by Robert Altman 1980s American political comedy television series 1980s American television miniseries American mockumentary television series 1988 United States presidential election 1988 United States Democratic presidential primaries United States presidential nominating conventions in fiction Films about elections Political mockumentaries Television shows set in New Hampshire