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Susan Zirinsky

Susan Zirinsky

Producer, also actor · Born March 3, 1952 (74) · New York City, New York, USA

Primetime Emmy winner

Susan Zirinsky (born March 3, 1952) is an American journalist and television news producer. She served as the President of CBS News from January 2019 until April 2021, when she was succeeded by Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon. She previously served as executive producer of 48 Hours from 1996 to 2019. In 2003, she won a Primetime Emmy Award as producer of the documentary 9/11, which aired on CBS in 2002. In 2013, Zirinsky was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Television & Film Awards. As CBS News President and Senior Executive Producer, Zirinsky was responsible for CBS News broadcasts and the division's newsgathering across all platforms including television, CBS News Radio, CBSNews.com and CBSN. Zirinsky is the first female President and Senior Executive Producer of CBS News.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 3, 1952 (74)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Producer, also actor
Titles
36 on MovieCove · 42 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 25% in 30 days

What are Susan Zirinsky's films like?

Across their 35 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
34%
Survival
21%
Ideas
11%
Power
11%
Self
10%
Society
9%
Bonds
5%
Justice15 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth12 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception9 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief10 titles, browse their movies with this themeFame4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCorruption4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 9

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 11 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 7

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 4

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 1 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 7

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 8 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
26
Dread
13
Contemplative
15
Melancholic
13
Cold
6
Other
14

How their films linger

Thought-provoking21 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating15 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteDevastating5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Bittersweet17
  • Tragic3
  • Ambiguous15

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Susan Zirinsky's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 35 of their 36 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Paramount+ (31).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Susan Zirinsky's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

42 credits, 36 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Daughters of 9/11(2026)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Devotion: Obedience or Betrayal(2026)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all shows

  • Wild Boys: Strangers in Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Show 2 episodes · Executive Producer

  • Handsome Devil: Charming Killer(2026)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all shows

  • Harlan Coben's Final Twist(2026)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all shows

  • My Killer Father: The Green Hollow Murders(2026)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all shows

  • Perilous Passage: Birth in America(2026)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Real Wolf of Wall Street(2026)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows

  • My Nightmare Stalker(2025)

    Show 2 episodes · Executive Producer

  • Don't Date Brandon(2025)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all shows

  • Bodyguard of Lies(2025)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Thirst Trap: The Fame. The Fantasy. The Fallout.(2025)

    Show 2 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all shows

  • The Carters: Hurts to Love You(2025)

    Show 2 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows

  • Sin City Gigolo: A Murder in Las Vegas(2025)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all shows

  • Burden of Guilt(2025)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows

  • Murder 360(2025)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all shows

  • Turning Point: The Vietnam War(2025)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all shows

  • We Will Dance Again(2024)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Mafia Spies(2024)

    Show 6 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all shows

  • Pillowcase Murders(2024)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows

  • Ctrl+Alt+Desire(2024)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all shows

  • #Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders(2024)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all shows

  • Born in Synanon(2023)

    Show 4 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows

  • Crush(2023)

    Show 2 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows

  • King Charles: The Boy Who Walked Alone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Executive Producer

  • FBI True(2023)

    Show 82 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows

  • JFK: What the Doctors Saw(2023)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Painkiller: The Tylenol Murders(2023)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all shows

  • The Checkup with Dr. David Agus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Show 6 episodes · Executive Producer

  • 11 Minutes(2022)

    Show 4 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows

  • Watergate: High Crimes in the White House(2022)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Never Seen Again(2022)

    Show 50 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows

  • Ghislaine - Partner in Crime (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Show 4 episodes · Executive Producer

  • Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?(2022)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all shows

  • Whistleblower(2018)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Son of Sam: The Killer Speaks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Executive Producer

  • NCIS: The Cases They Can't Forget(2017)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs(2015)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Beslan: Three Days in September(2006)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Elvis by the Presleys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Executive Producer

  • 9/11(2002)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Broadcast News(1987)

    Associate Producer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 28 titles from 1987 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Broadcast News (1987)

$67M worldwide

Highest rated

9/11 (2002)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Mafia Spies (2024)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Producing28 of 28: 28 only producing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score62nd

By decade

1980s1 · crew2000s2 · crew2010s1 · crew2020s24 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

Won a Primetime Emmy in 2002, Outstanding Non-Fiction Special (Informational).

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Susan Zirinsky's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 89th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 85th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

85thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Approval · how many liked their films

85thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

33rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 35 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up12
  • 50th to 74th7
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th11

Shape of the crowd

13 of their 35 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Universally Panned2
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser10
  • Broadly Agreed4
  • Mixed13

Most divisive · producer

Perilous Passage: Birth in America (2026)

90th percentile spread · 21% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

9/11 (2002)

Midcredits 99th · 90% liked

Reviewers score the acting 77/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 79, detractors 70. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Susan Zirinsky work with?

People who share at least 2 of Susan Zirinsky's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Terence Wrong shares the most, 27.

Directors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

  • Terence Wrong27 titles    See newest 12 of 27 shared titles with Terence Wrong
  • Aysu Saliba24 titles    See newest 12 of 24 shared titles with Aysu Saliba
  • Cara Tortora21 titles    See newest 12 of 21 shared titles with Cara Tortora
  • Amy Gardner4 titles    See all 4 shared titles with Amy Gardner

Mixed roles