Buzzworthy Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary RBG is coming to CNN next month, just four months after its wide theatrical release. The film, from directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen, will have its small-screen premiere on Labor Day (September 3), the news network announced Monday. CNN — which co-produced RBG via its CNN Films— plans to air the movie twice that Monday (at 9 p.m. and midnight ET), with an encore slated for September 9 at 8 p.m. ET. It’ll also be available for streaming via cable/satellite on demand and CNNgo platforms.
CNN is planning an aggressive marketing campaign for RBG, including the launch next week of a podcast devoted to the professional and personal life of the Supreme Court justice. Dubbed Beyond Notorious, it’ll be hosted by CNN staffers Poppy Harlow and Jeffrey Toobin. RBG has been a box-office phenomenon, earning nearly $14 million — huge for a documentary. It’s the second biggest doc of the year, behind only the Fred Rogers film Won’t You Be My Neighbor, which has taken in nearly $22 million. That film will debut on PBS early next year. Another CNN Films documentary, Three Identical Strangers, has also generated strong box office, earning nearly $10 million during its first five weeks of release. No word yet on when it will hit CNN.