CNN, Robert Redford Team Up for Series on Obama's Chicago Under Emanuel, the 'Tough Visionary Mayor'

May 8th, 2013 10:33 PM

The Chicago Tribune’s Steve Johnson reports CNN has made a deal with liberal actor Robert Redford to produce a eight-episode reality show in 2014 called “Chicagoland.”

CNN and Redford aren’t filming in a red state or a hick town – it’s Obama’s adopted hometown: “One of the attractions to Chicago, CNN made clear, is the president being from here and Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s high profile.” Jeff Zucker's CNN is just offering more liberal boosterism in a different wineskin. Johnson warned:

But it sounds as though viewers should be alert for hagiography. “Much of (the challenge in Chicago) falls on the shoulders of its tough, visionary mayor, his team and people doing heroic work in neighborhoods throughout the city,” Redford said in a statement.

Redford also said “Chicago has always had a rhythm all its own. It’s a city that wears its heart on its sleeve and I am honored to be a part of telling this story.” 

The series will be produced by Robert Redford and Sundance Productions, along with Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin of the Sundance Channel series “Brick City,” which boosted the national standing of liberal Newark, New Jersey mayor Cory Booker.