Reality TV on campaign trail

Fact and fiction on the campaign trail will blur just as they did 16 years ago, when the “Tanner ‘88” team reunites for fresh satire on this year’s presidential race.

The three-episode series, not yet titled, will reunite “Tanner ‘88” co-creators -- director Robert Altman and “Doonesbury” creator Garry Trudeau -- as well as cast members Michael Murphy, Cynthia Nixon, Pamela Reed and Matt Malloy. It will air in October on the Sundance Channel, the cable network announced Monday.

This production follows Sundance Channel’s recent re-airing of the original “Tanner ‘88” miniseries, a groundbreaking HBO-produced “mockumentary” that followed fictitious presidential hopeful Jack Tanner (Murphy) as he battled his way through real-life 1988 Democratic primaries, only to “lose” the nomination to Michael S. Dukakis.

The new series centers on Tanner’s daughter Alex (Nixon), now a filmmaker seeking funding for a documentary about what it takes to run for president and the toll it takes on those who lose.