Tanner '88

Garry Trudeau said the goal behind the miniseries was to let the audience feel they were eavesdropping and to create a sense of authenticity by observing the campaign process, rather than making a topical movie strictly about 1988.

The blend of fiction and reality that became the show's trademark was initially accidental, and the series evolved during production into what Robert Altman described as 'two-thirds scripted and one-third found art'.

The series featured real political and media figures crossing paths with the fictional campaign, including Bruce Babbitt, Bob Dole, Kitty Dukakis, Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson, Pat Robertson, Tom Brokaw, and Linda Ellerbee.

Several real-world public figures were mentioned as prospective members of Jack Tanner's cabinet, including Robert Redford as Secretary of the Interior, Ralph Nader as Attorney General, and Gloria Steinem as Secretary of Health and Human Services, some appearing on-screen in cameo.

Trudeau and Altman intended to produce more episodes, but HBO did not extend the run of the series.

Aaron Sorkin has acknowledged that Tanner '88 influenced The West Wing, which he created over a decade later, particularly in its underlying idealism and portrayal of political staffers striving to do the right thing.

Robert Altman won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the episode 'The Boiler Room', and Pamela Reed won an ACE Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series.

In 2004, Trudeau and Altman revisited the story sixteen years later with a sequel called Tanner on Tanner, and Sundance Channel also added new one- to two-minute preludes to each original episode in which the actors reflect in character on the '88 campaign from a present-day perspective.