Ben Mankiewicz

Benjamin Frederick Mankiewicz (born March 25, 1967) is an American television journalist and host for Turner Classic Movies (TCM). He is a progressive political commentator for The Young Turks. He has served as a film critic for the 2008–2009 season for the TV program At the Movies and the web series What the Flick?!

A descendant of the Mankiewicz family, Ben Mankiewicz graduated from Tufts University, and earned a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. He subsequently worked as a news reporter and anchor, first for WCSC-TV in Charleston, South Carolina and later for WAMI in Miami. Mankiewicz left news journalism, and auditioned as a television host for Turner Classic Movies.

Mankiewicz was hired in 2003 as an afternoon weekend host, second to Robert Osborne, who was the channel's primetime host. In 2013, for health reasons, Osborne delegated weekday primetime hosting appearances to Mankiewicz. In 2017, Osborne died at the age of 84, and Mankiewicz became the network's primetime host. Additionally, he hosts the TCM-produced podcast series, The Plot Thickens and Talking Pictures.

Early life Mankiewicz was born in Washington, D.C., to press secretary Frank Mankiewicz and Holly Mankiewicz (née Jolley). His father was of German Jewish descent. He is the cousin of screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz and filmmaker/television producer Nick Davis, and the brother of NBC News reporter Josh Mankiewicz.

Mankiewicz attended Georgetown Day School for his primary and secondary education. After graduating, he next enrolled into Tufts University. After his sophomore year, he interned at The George Michael Sports Machine, and "then came back the next year and worked for Glenn Brenner." In 1992, he received a Master of Science degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism with an emphasis in broadcast journalism.

Mankiewicz joined WAMI in Miami, Florida, in 1998, where he served as anchor of The Times, a daily news magazine show and the station's highlight program. On July 28, 1998, Mankiewicz was assaulted with a lead pipe across the upper left thigh when he arrived unannounced at Meir Vaknin's house to interview him about allegations that his family's Miami-Dade County moving company, Atlantic Express, was overcharging customers. Mankiewicz said at the time, "I thought he was going to show me some documents or something. I never thought he'd hit me. I'm not a brave man." The incident was partially captured on videotape. WAMI turned over the tapes to Lauderhill police after they had aired the story. On August 4, Vaknin turned himself into the Broward County jail, where he was charged with felony battery.

Mankiewicz left WAMI not wanting to work in television news any longer and was in search for another television job. "I auditioned for every show on television: reality shows, game shows," Mankiewicz stated. "I must have auditioned for 120 shows, including, I'm ashamed to say, Are You Hot? — and not as one of the judges."

2003–present: Turner Classic Movies By the early 2000s, network executives at Turner Classic Movies (TCM) began noticing high viewership numbers during the afternoon weekend hours. In early 2003, they held auditions in Century City, Los Angeles for an on-air host to serve the time slot. Mankiewicz was given his first audition, which was to compare Seven Samurai (1954) and The Magnificent Seven (1960) following a screening with two other applicants. He passed, and his second audition was reading an introduction to The Bishop's Wife (1947) from a teleprompter. He returned home, where he asked his then-girlfriend to watch TCM, which was airing The Barefoot Contessa (1954), directed by his grand-uncle Joseph L. Mankiewicz.

In 2003, Mankiewicz was hired as a host for Turner Classic Movies, making his debut appearance on September 6. At the time, he was the network's second host with Robert Osborne as the first. To avoid imitating Osborne's style, Mankiewicz chose a loose, more casual demeanor, including sporting a goatee. According to Charles Tabesh, TCM's senior vice president of programming, this was encouraged. He reflected: "we really emphasized the differences [between them]. We asked him to have a goatee. We had him in a set that was a downtown loft, and his scripts were much less reverential." Furthermore, Mankiewicz frequently uses sardonic humor in his on-air introductions; before a broadcast of Gigi (1958), he once joked the film was not to be confused with "Gigli, the 'Bennifer' disaster that won't get anywhere near the Oscars." According to Vanity Fair, Mankiewicz's early appearances were disliked among older network audiences. Years since, he has worn more formal attire and adopted a clean-shaven image. Mankiewicz's on-air appearances were also expanded to host the weekend programming blocks: Silent Sunday Nights and TCM Imports. In 2019, Jacqueline Stewart and Alicia Malone, respectively, were made the latest hosts for each block. In 2016, TCM partnered with The Criterion Collection to launch a streaming service, FilmStruck. In 2018, the service added a curated collection branded as the "TCM Select," which featured exclusive introductions by Mankiewicz. In November of the same year, FilmStruck ceased operations.

In March 2017, Osborne died at the age of 84. Mankiewicz commemorated him in a post: "All of us at TCM are better for having known him – I know I am. His legacy is reflected in the shared love and appreciation we all have for the movies he cared so deeply about." He succeeded Osborne as the channel's primetime host.

In 2020, TCM and Mankiewicz launched an original podcast series titled The Plot Thickens, with the first season chronicling Peter Bogdanovich's filmmaking career. A year later, the first season was named a Webby Honoree for Television & Film Podcasts, and again in 2022 and 2023. The Plot Thickens was also awarded the Best Branded Podcast at the 2021 Adweek Podcast Awards. The second season chronicled the tumultuous production of The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), the third profiled Lucille Ball, and the fourth season profiled Pam Grier.

On June 6, 2024, the fifth season of The Plot Thickens, which chronicled film director John Ford's life and career, began streaming. A sixth season chronicling the troubled production of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Cleopatra (1963) began streaming in July 2025. A seventh season about Stanley Kubrick, in partnership with the Criterion Collection, will begin streaming on September 24, 2026.

In 2023, Mankiewicz began hosting a second podcast series Talking Pictures, in which he interviewed several personalities, including Mel Brooks, Nancy Meyers, and Patty Jenkins. A second season has been renewed, which began streaming in November 2024. It features interviews with Bill Murray, Margot Robbie, Carol Burnett, and Henry Winkler among others.

Other ventures In 2008, Mankiewicz was hired to co-host the nationally syndicated television series At the Movies, alongside Ben Lyons. While Lyons's credentials as a film critic were criticized, Mankiewicz received a favorable reception among television viewers. Regardless, this incarnation was cancelled after one season, and they were replaced by A. O. Scott and Michael Phillips. In response, Mankiewicz stated: "I loved working on this show, every moment of it ... It was an honor to continue a broadcast legacy not merely started by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, but created by them. No doubt the show is in good hands."

Mankiewicz co-hosted the online film review series What the Flick?! on The Young Turks Network, alongside fellow critics Christy Lemire, Matt Atchity, and Alonso Duralde. In August 2018, Lemire posted on her website What the Flick?! had officially ended. The series was reformatted into the web series and podcast Breakfast All Day hosted by Lemire and Duralde.

Mankiewicz has made cameo appearances in the Lifetime television movie The Bling Ring (2011) and the action film White House Down (2013). He also appears regularly on other shows as a political and media commentator, including The Michael Brooks Show in 2017. In 2019, he became a news contributor for CBS News Sunday Morning.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2011 The Bling Ring Host TV movie 2012 Ten Years of the Young Turks Himself 2013 White House Down Reporter The Screenwriters: The Stars Behind the Camera Himself 2014 TCM: Twenty Classic Moments Host TV movie Mad as Hell Himself I Am Steve McQueen Film critic Hannibal: This Is My Design Himself 2015 Robert Osborne's 20th Anniversary Tribute Himself 2017 Faye Dunaway: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival Host 2018 Michael Douglas: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival Host The Great Buster Himself The Producers: Q&A with Mel Brooks from the TCM Classic Film Festival Moderator/Interviewer 2019 Memory: The Origins of Alien Host, Turner Classic Movies 2020 Mank Broadcaster, Academy Awards Voice role Stuntwoman: The Untold Hollywood Story Himself 2021 I Am Alfred Hitchcock Himself Voice role Film, the Living Record of our Memory Himself 2022 Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen Commentator TV special 2023 Dick Tracy Special: Tracy Zooms In Himself TV movie Remembering Gene Wilder Himself AFL Life Achievement Award: 50th Anniversary Special Host TV special

Television Year Title Role Notes 2003 The Practice News Anchor Episode: "Les Is More" Summer Under the Stars Host 2004 Cartoon Alley Host 2006–2020 The Young Turks Host/Himself/Guest 18 episodes 2007–2008 TMZ on TV Himself 3 episodes 2007 Big Love News presenter Episode: "Good Guys and Bad Guys" 2008–2009 At the Movies Co-Host 25 episodes 2009 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Guest Expert 3 episodes The Bonnie Hunt Show Himself 1 episode 2010–2015 TYT Sports Host/Anchor 21 episodes 2010–2017 What the Flick?! Host 154 episodes 2010 Party Down Sportscaster Episode: "Cole Landry's Draft Day Party" The Rotten Tomatoes Show Himself 4 episodes 2011; 2014 The Point Himself 2 episodes AM Northwest Himself Episode: "Ernest Borgnine" Hot Set Host Episode: "Alien Queen" SAG Foundation Conversations Host Episode: "Illeana Douglas" 2013 The War Room with Michael Shure Guest 1 episode 2014–2019 Jeopardy! Clue Giver/Video Clue Presenter 4 episodes 2015 Mad as Hell: The Series Himself 4 episodes AFI Life Achievement Award Himself Episode: "AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Steve Martin" 2016–2024 TCM Guest Programmer 42 episodes 2016 The Cowboy Himself 2 episodes 2017 TCM Spotlight: 50 Years of Hitchcock Host 10 episodes TCM Co-Host Himself Episode: "George Pal Tribute" The Michael Brooks Show Himself 1 episode 2018 Good Day L.A. Himself 1 episode 2019–2020 The Very Very Best of the 70s Himself/Commentator 2 episodes 2019–present CBS News Sunday Morning Himself/CBS News Correspondent 40 episodes 2019 Private Screenings Host Episode: "The Best of Private Screenings" TCM Presents: Never Surrender - WWII in the Movies Host 27 episodes TCM Presents: Out of This World Host 3 episodes The Movies Himself 6 episodes TCM Spotlight: Gridiron Glory - College Football in the Movies Host 13 episodes TCM Spotlight: Pets on Sets Host 12 episodes 2020 The Simpsons Himself Episode: "Treehouse of Horror XXXI" Now Showing Host 48 episodes AFI Movie Club Himself Episode: "Ben Mankiewicz announces Ben Hur" The Essentials Host 20 episodes 2021 Cartoon Network's Cartoonito Himself 2023-2024 AEW Dynamite Presenter 2 episodes 2024 John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA Caller Episode: "Earthquakes" ASSSSCAT: Los Angeles Monologist Episode: "Ben Mankiewicz" AEW Collision Himself Episode: "Countdown to AEW All In 2024" Sugar Himself Episode: "Starry-Eyed" 2025 Today Himself 1 episode

Audio Year Title Role Notes 2020–present The Plot Thickens Host 47 episodes 2020 Give Them Lala Guest Episode: "and Ben Mankiewicz" Well, This Isn't Normal Himself Episode: "Ben Mankiewicz Has a Voice for Storytelling" 2021 Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast Guest Episode: "Ben Mankiewicz" 2022 The Big Lie Narrator 2024–present Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast Host 30 episodes 2024 Julian Schlossberg's Movie Talk Guest 2 episodes The Movies That Made Me Guest Episode: "TALKING PICTURES podcast Host Ben Mankiewicz" 2025 The Big Fix: A Jack Bergin Mystery Narrator 8 episodes