Susan Zirinsky, a veteran of TV-news, has lately set her sights on new frontiers.
The former CBS News President and executive producer of “48 Hours,” has since 2012 led See It New Studios, a Paramount Global production shingle that works in documentaries and unscripted series. Some are tied to true crime and others aim to provide witness to major historical events.
“The streaming world has given us a platform to really expand and deal with things in a much more profound way. And we have a wide portfolio,” says Zirinsky, who notes she can devise projects for the CBS broadcast network, Paramount+ or even a platform owned by a rival. She spoke during a one-one-one chat during “Truth Seekers,” an annual conference that spotlights documentary production and unscripted programming under the auspices of Variety and Rolling Stone, presented by Paramount+.
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One of her newest projects is “We Will Dance Again,” a documentary that examines the October 7th Hamas terror attack on the international Nova Music Festival by using footage recorded on mobile devices by victims as well as eyewitness accounts. The film will first open in Los Angeles at Laemmle Encino for a week-long Oscar-qualifying run beginning on August 23, ahead of the advanced event screenings on Friday, August 29, and Sunday, September 1, in select theaters across the country. The See It Now Studios Original Documentary will launch on Paramount+ exclusively in the U.S. this fall.
“What happened on October 7th at 6:29 cannot be denied. We’re co-producers of this documentary, but we took this on because it is a moment in time. You are not allowed to deny that this happened,” says Zirinsky. “This will be a record, one of the records of history, but we understand the global reaction. But we are not telling that story. We are telling this story. And it’s immersive because for both the people’s cell phone videos and the director obtained through sources, not through the IDF, the incredible, uh, GoPros and body cams of the Hamas.”
She added: “So this is about truth. This documentary will be one of the records of history.”
The news executive said her new production effort gives her more freedom because many of her projects are not subject to the rules and standards of broadcast TV. Can she use more profanity?
“F– yes,” she responded with a laugh. “Sometimes our lawyers will forget that they’re not doing a network show. And they’ll come back and they’ll say, you know, you have to mute that. You mute that. I said, no, we’re on Paramount+.”
