Benjamin Frederick Mankiewicz[2] (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?![3]
Mankiewicz was hired in 2003 as an afternoon weekend host, second to Robert Osborne, who was the channel's primetime host. In 2013, due to 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.
Mankiewicz was hired as a sports producer for WJLA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C., and next as a producer for the sports radio station WTEM. By 1993, he was working as an on-air reporter for WCSC-TV (a CBS affiliate) in Charleston, South Carolina.[9] He 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.[10] He 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."[11]
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 filmmakers. He passed, and his second audition was reading an introduction to The Bishop's Wife (1947) from a teleprompter.[12] 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.[13]
In 2003, Mankiewicz was hired as a host for Turner Classic Movies, making his debut appearance on September 6.[14][15] At the time, he was the network's second host with Robert Osborne being the first. To avoid imitating Osborne's style, Mankiewicz chose a loose, more casual demeanor, including sporting a goatee.[16] 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."[17] 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."[18] 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.[16]
In 2012, desiring a lesser schedule due to past health concerns, Osborne began delegating weekday primetime hosting appearances over to Mankiewicz by the following year.[19] 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.[20][21] 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.[22] In November of the same year, FilmStruck ceased operations.[23]
In March 2017, Osborne died at the age of 84, in which Mankiewicz commemorated him, posting: "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."[24] He then succeeded Osborne as the channel's primetime host.[16] As of 2025, Mankiewicz hosts the primetime lineup from Wednesdays to Sundays (his colleagues Dave Karger and Alicia Malone host the primetime lineup on Mondays and Tuesdays, respectively).[25]
In 2020, TCM and Mankiewicz launched an original podcast series titled The Plot Thickens, with the first season chronicling Peter Bogdanovich's filmmaking career.[26] A year later, the first season was named a Webby Honoree for Television & Film
Podcasts,[27] and again in 2022 and 2023. The Plot Thickens was also awarded the Best Branded Podcast at the 2021 Adweek Podcast Awards.[28] 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.[29] On June 6, 2024, the series' fifth season, which chronicles film director John Ford's life and career, began streaming.[30]
In 2008, Mankiewicz was hired to co-host the nationally syndicated television series At the Movies, alongside Ben Lyons.[34] While Lyons's credentials as a film critic were criticized, Mankiewicz received a favorable reception among television viewers.[35] 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."[36]
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.[37] In August 2018, Lemire posted on her website What the Flick?! had officially ended.[38] The series was reformatted into the web series and podcast Breakfast All Day hosted by Lemire and Duralde.[39]
