Premieres Tuesday, May 20, 2025 on PBS

BOSTON, Mass. – May 13, 2025 – BREAKING THE DEADLOCK, a dynamic new series from GBH airing and streaming nationwide on PBS, is releasing a new episode focused on the topic of executive power in government. Designed to encourage civil dialogue, the series brings together a diverse panel of prominent voices from the legal, political and cultural arenas to explore ethical dilemmas. Moderated by Aaron Tang, professor at UC Davis School of Law, the latest episode, entitled BREAKING THE DEADLOCK: A Power Play will premiere nationwide on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, 9 p.m. ET (check local listings) and stream on PBS.org, YouTube and the PBS app.

BREAKING THE DEADLOCK: A Power Play is a fast-paced one-hour journey where moderator Aaron Tang guides panel participants through complex hypothetical scenarios around the use of executive power by a pair of fictional U.S. Presidents from opposite parties. The program is introduced by journalist Katie Couric.

A politically diverse group of panelists was chosen to take part in the program, ensuring the topic would be explored from every possible perspective. The panel features Dr. Dave Brat, senior vice president of business relations at Liberty University and former U.S. representative from Virginia; Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor and managing partner at Christie 55 Solutions LLC; Hon. Allyson K. Duncan, retired U.S. circuit judge; Rep. Dan Goldman, U.S. representative from New York and former assistant U.S. attorney; Alberto R. Gonzales, former U.S. attorney general and dean of Belmont University College of Law; Sarah Isgur, senior editor at “The Dispatch” and co-host of the “Advisory Opinions” legal podcast; Scott Jennings, senior political contributor for CNN and partner at RunSwitch Public Relations; Tim Ryan, former US Representative and senior adviser for the Progressive Policy Institute’s Campaign for Working Americans; Roger Severino, vice president of domestic policy at The Heritage Foundation; Marc Short, former White House legislative affairs director under President Donald Trump; Lesley Stahl, correspondent for CBS’s “60 Minutes;” and Jon Tester, former U.S. senator and farmer.

The pilot episode, DEADLOCK: An Election Story, premiered on September 20, 2024, and is currently available to stream onPBS.org. The episode was recently honored with a nomination for the 46th Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards, in the category of Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis, as announced by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Additional episodes are in development and slated to launch this year.

“BREAKING THE DEADLOCK brings together people from across the political spectrum in a way that requires them to go beyond the usual talking points and speak to our core values as Americans,” said moderator Aaron Tang. “By using hypothetical scenarios that rhyme with reality, we create space for honest introspection and conversation—and even some surprising breakthroughs.”

Each episode of BREAKING THE DEADLOCK dives into essential questions of community, accountability and personal responsibility, sparking legal, moral and ethical reflections. As each hypothetical scenario unfolds with unexpected twists, both panelists and viewers are challenged to confront the thought-provoking question: “What would I do?”

“There’s nothing else like this on American television right now,” said Executive Producer Andrew Lack, Executive Chairman and Founder of the Pulitzer Prize-winning non-profit Mississippi Today. “BREAKING THE DEADLOCK examines today’s most pressing topics not with division, but with an open door to real dialogue. At a time when media is searching for ways to bring differing sides together, our panelists are doing more than just talking—they’re truly listening. This show is living proof that civil, respectful conversation is possible.”

BREAKING THE DEADLOCK was filmed before a live audience on Monday, April 14 at the New York Historical in New York City.

“What makes BREAKING THE DEADLOCK so compelling is the sheer unpredictability,” said Executive Producer John Bredar, GBH VP of National Programming. “Our panelists walk in knowing only the topic. They don’t know where the scenario will lead, they don’t know who else will be at the table, and yet they show up, willingly and often skeptically. The conversation unfolds in real time, in front of a live audience, and that leap of faith creates something raw, honest, and unlike anything else on television.”

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About BREAKING THE DEADLOCK

BREAKING THE DEADLOCK is a groundbreaking public affairs series that confronts leaders with hypothetical ethical scenarios. Hosted by Aaron Tang of UC Davis School of Law, the show aims to foster constructive dialogue and critical thinking amidst today’s societal challenges. BREAKING THE DEADLOCK is a co-production of GBH, Andrew Lack and Room 608. Produced by Jonathan Halperin and Mark Mannucci. Senior Executive Producer, Andrew Lack. Executive Producers John Bredar, Laurie Donnelly, and Nina Weinstein. Moderated by Aaron Tang. Scenarios by Joan Greco. The location for BREAKING THE DEADLOCK is furnished by the New York Historical. Funding for BREAKING THE DEADLOCK was made possible in part by PBS viewers.

About Aaron Tang
Aaron Tang is Professor of Law at the University of California, Davis and former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III[AT1] . Tang writes frequently about the Supreme Court in popular media including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Slate, The Atlantic, USA Today, and elsewhere. He is the author of Supreme Hubris: How Overconfidence is Destroying the Court—and How We Can Fix It, published in August 2023 by Yale University Press.

About Andrew Lack
Andrew Lack is a 16-time Emmy award recipient and a two-time Peabody award winning journalist, television/film producer, and media executive. Under his 15-year leadership as Chairman and CEO, NBC News became the most watched news organization in the world. He is currently senior executive producer for Breaking the Deadlock, a new special series beginning May 20 on PBS. He is also Executive Chairman and Founder of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize winning digital first, local news organization, Mississippi Today.

Lack served as the first CEO and director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, overseeing Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, CEO of the Bloomberg Media Group and Sony Music Entertainment between 2003 and 2015.

 In 1996, Lack created and co-founded MSNBC— a groundbreaking cable news and digital partnership between Microsoft and NBC. He began his career at CBS News as a producer for 60 Minutes and long form CBS Reports specials and documentaries.

About John Bredar
John Bredar is GBH’s Vice President of National Programming. He oversees GBH’s many celebrated original primetime series for PBS including American Experience, NOVA and Frontline, Masterpiece and Antiques Roadshow. He is also co-executive producer of Breaking the Deadlock.

Bredar joined GBH in 2013 after 26 years with National Geographic, where he was Senior Executive Producer for the National Geographic Specials. In his time there, he produced, directed and wrote a wide variety of programs from live TV from the Pyramids at Giza, to scripted drama and 25 documentary films.

Bredar’s work has earned him Emmy and Peabody Awards, including the Best Director Emmy for his 2004 film, Field of Honor, an inside look at Arlington Cemetery. Bredar is the author of The President’s Photographer, which explores the history of official White House Presidential photographers.

About GBH
GBH is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. It is the creator of signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, Arthur and Molly of Denali, as well as WORLD Channel and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR®; CRB Classical 99.5; and CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR® station. Dedicated to making media accessible to and inclusive of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide with PBS LearningMedia and has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards. Find more information at www.wgbh.org

 About Room 608 
Mark Mannucci and Jon Halperin have been collaborating since 2007. In the past eight years, they have produced films and series for Netflix, Amazon, PBS, PBS Digital, The Atlantic, The World, History, and National Geographic. Their work has been screened at festivals around the world and in 2017, they won a National News and Documentary Emmy for Best Science film for A Year In Space. Collectively they have won two George Foster Peabody Awards and seven Emmys. Mark directed Dr. Tony Fauci, a 2023 feature documentary for PBS’ American Masters. Most recently, Jon executive produced Unknown, a new science/adventure series for Netflix.

About NBW Productions
NBW principal, Nina Weinstein, is an independent non-fiction executive who has written, produced and held executive positions in New York and Los Angeles for NBC News, MSNBC, CBS News, NBC entertainment and Bravo. She has contributed to work that has been honored with two Emmy Awards, and Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and an Academy Award nomination.

About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 36 million adults on linear primetime television, more than 16 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, 53 million viewers on YouTube, and 60 million people view PBS content on social media, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS LearningMedia for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. As the number one educational media brand, PBS KIDS helps children 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV — including a PBS KIDS channel — and streaming free on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video app, games on the PBS KIDS Games app, and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, Facebook, Instagram, or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on X. 

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