Discussion will follow ‘Reagans’

Showtime will follow its Nov. 30 premiere of the controversial TV movie “The Reagans” with a round-table forum of journalists, historians, biographers and educators discussing the former president.

The discussion, which will originate from Washington on Dec. 1, will be moderated by former CNN Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno. Scheduled panelists include Marvin Kalb, senior fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center for the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University; Martin Anderson, co-author of several books culled from Reagan letters and writings; Carl Sferrazza Anthony, author of “First Ladies” and a producer of “The Reagans”; Lou Cannon, a Ronald Reagan biographer and author of five Reagan books; and Linda Chavez, political analyst for Fox News.

“The Reagans” was pulled off the CBS schedule this month and shifted to Showtime, another unit of the Viacom Inc. conglomerate, after a storm of protests from Reagan supporters charging that the drama was inaccurate, biased and insensitive, given the former president’s current health.