NEW RACHEL MADDOW DOCUMENTARY: “ANDREW YOUNG: THE DIRTY WORK” ACQUIRED BY MSNBC
The Documentary Feature Film From Rachel Maddow’s Production Company ‘Surprise Inside’ To Air on MSNBC on Friday, Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. ET
First Look at Maddow’s Latest Project To Debut at MSNBCLIVE ‘25: This Is Who We Are Event on Oct. 11 in New York City
Plus, Maddow To Host a Special Edition of “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Friday, Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. ET
(Sept. 22, 2025 – NEW YORK) – MSNBC has acquired the second documentary film project from MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and her Surprise Inside production company – Andrew Young: The Dirty Work. Co-produced with Left/Right and executive produced by Maddow, the feature film will air on Friday, Oct. 17, beginning at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC following a special edition of “The Rachel Maddow Show,” beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
“At a time when confrontations with the government and grassroots protests are back at the center of American political life, the civil rights movement is more than just a moral cornerstone for our country – it’s a living, breathing, practical manual for how to fight for what’s right, and win that fight, and maybe even save your own soul in the process,” says Maddow. “Andrew Young’s story is not gauzy or romantic, it’s the gritty truth of what it takes to build and sustain a winning movement. Andrew Young: The Dirty Work is about how hard it is to be a hero, and how beautiful, too.”
Maddow will debut an exclusive first look of the film during MSNBCLIVE ‘25: This Is Who We Are, the second annual community-focused fan event on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, ahead of its premiere on MSNBC.
Andrew Young: The Dirty Work is an unprecedented behind-the-scenes story, exclusively told by Andrew Young – a visionary strategist, tireless negotiator, and trusted friend to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who rose from the frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement to the corridors of global power. Young, reflecting in his own words at 93 years old, redefines “the dirty work” – the quiet, difficult labor that makes landmark change possible.
“I was born at the right time and happened to be at the right places to be part of the Civil Rights movement that helped change America,” says Andrew Young on his historic journey from activist to elected official and living legend of the Civil Rights era.
The documentary, directed by Matt Kay, shows Young’s dramatic, high-stakes life before and following King’s assassination, as he carried King’s dream forward into Congress and the White House. As the first Black Congressman from the South since Reconstruction and then U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and then Mayor of Atlanta, Young remained a master of persuasion and a bridge-builder who never stopped believing in a better, fairer world.
Andrew Young: The Dirty Work is the latest project in Maddow’s expanding multi-platform portfolio within MSNBC which includes her successful MSNBC primetime show, “The Rachel Maddow Show,” four MSNBC original podcasts including “Bag Man,” “Déjà News,” and “Ultra” which received a 2025 Edward R. Murrow Award, as well as two feature length films in development, the Emmy-nominated documentary feature From Russia with Lev, three number one New York Times best-selling books, scripted projects, and more.
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