FRED ARMISEN TO HOST CNN ORIGINAL SERIES UNEARTHING TREASURES AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORIES FROM THE WORLD’S LARGEST MUSIC ARCHIVE
FRED ARMISEN TO HOST CNN ORIGINAL SERIES UNEARTHING TREASURES AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORIES FROM THE WORLD’S LARGEST MUSIC ARCHIVE
Production from Universal Music Group, Time Studios, Polygram Entertainment and Known Originals
LOS ANGELES – (January 31, 2026) – CNN and Universal Music Group (UMG) announced today that Peabody Award-winning comedian, actor, writer and musician Fred Armisen will lead a new CNN Original Series. The untitled music docuseries will give fans an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look into Universal Music Group’s vaults, which form the world’s largest music archives. Produced by UMG’s film and television division Polygram Entertainment, TIME Studios and Known Originals, the CNN Original Series will premiere later this year as part of CNN Originals’ anticipated 2026 programming slate.
With Armisen as their dynamic and knowledgeable host, viewers will explore pivotal moments in pop culture, and the stories of the iconic artists and songwriters who changed the course of history. UMG’s archives include a massive, highly secure vault within the Iron Mountain facility in Boyers, Pennsylvania, located 220 feet underground in a former limestone mine. The series will unearth priceless artifacts, encompassing original recordings, master tapes, rare photos and performances, alternative album art and music videos, many of which have not been seen or heard publicly before.
“This series opens the doors to one of the most extraordinary music archives in the world, and Fred Armisen is the perfect guide,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development for CNN Worldwide. “His deep connection to music and natural sense of wonder allow viewers a chance to experience music history up close, discovering the unexpected stories behind some of the most iconic sounds ever created.”
Will Tanous, EVP and Chief Administrative Officer at Universal Music Group, and Executive Producer said, “This series was born from a desire to show fans what it’s like to mine the greatest underground musical archive in the world – giving them a sense of the hunt, the challenge, the thrill of this work – as well as direct access to the dedicated experts who preserve and champion these incredible musical legacies. Fred’s singular blend of humor, fandom, and musical talent make him the ideal storyteller to reveal the intimate era-defining moments and unheard gems that form the foundation of popular culture.”
This series extends CNN Originals’ award-winning tradition of celebrating legendary artists and music history, joining a library of premium programming streaming on the CNN app.
Executive producers for the series are Fred Armisen; Will Tanous and David Blackman for UMG; Amy Entelis, Lyle Gamm and Katie Hinman for CNN Original Series; Jeff Smith for Time Studios; Doug Pray. The series is produced by Nicole Avant and Brad Roth; co-producers are Bruce Resnikoff and Madeline Post for UMG. Executive Producer Ted Skillman will also serve as show runner.
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About CNN Originals
The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN FlashDocs, and CNN Studios, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN’s global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 50 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 120 awards and 450 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films’ first Academy Award® for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy® Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy® nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and Emmy® nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy® Award-nominated “Decades Series”: The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not directed by Emmy® winner Marina Zenovich; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy® Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; the Oscar®, BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, Navalny directed by Daniel Roher; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; Primetime Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy® Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
About Universal Music Group
At Universal Music Group, we exist to shape culture through the power of artistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audio-visual content. Featuring the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms, and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. For more information, visit www.universalmusic.com.
ABOUT POLYGRAM ENTERTAINMENT
Polygram Entertainment is the film and television arm of Universal Music Group, the world leader in music-based entertainment. Built on the foundation of the world’s most comprehensive and storied music catalog, Polygram Entertainment develops, produces, and finances music-driven content that inspires and engages fans of all ages around the world. From premium documentaries to original scripted features and scripted and unscripted television, Polygram Entertainment productions explore the ways in which music shapes culture, informs our worldview, and brings us closer together. Polygram Entertainment’s acclaimed, award-winning projects include Selena y Los Dinos, which follows the rise of the famed Tejano singer Selena and her family band; the recently Emmy-nominated docuseries STAX: Soulsville U.S.A, about the legendary Memphis-based record label; docuseries James Brown: Say It Loud; Love to Love You, Donna Summer, directed by Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano; Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues from director Sacha Jenkins; Todd Haynes’ The Velvet Underground; Frank Marshall’s The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart; Beastie Boys Story from director Spike Jonze; Alison Ellwood’s The Go-Go’s; Pavarotti from director Ron Howard; Roger Ross Williams’ The Apollo; the Emmy Award-winning series “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” and the subsequent telefilm “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas.” Upcoming projects include Academy Award-winner Morgan Neville’s Man on the Run, a feature documentary that explores Paul McCartney following the breakup of The Beatles and the formation of Wings with Linda McCartney; “The Greatest,” the first-ever authorized scripted series about the life of Muhammad Ali, produced with Michael B. Jordan and Roc Nation; and scripted features about KISS and The Osbournes.
