The Kennedys (TV miniseries)

''The Kennedys'' is a television miniseries chronicling the lives of the famous political Kennedy family, including key triumphs and tragedies it has experienced. It stars Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Katie Holmes, and Tom Wilkinson among others, and is directed by Jon Cassar. The series premiered in the United States in April 2011 on the Reelz Channel, on History Television in Canada and on the History Channel in the United Kingdom.

Cast

Main

*Greg Kinnear as John F. "Jack" Kennedy
* Barry Pepper as Robert F. "Bobby" Kennedy
* Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Kennedy
*Tom Wilkinson as Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
*Diana Hardcastle as Rose Kennedy
*Kristin Booth as Ethel Kennedy

Guest

*Chris Diamantopoulos as Frank Sinatra
* Charlotte Sullivan as Marilyn Monroe
*Gabriel Hogan as Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
*Ryan Blakely as Lee Harvey Oswald

Recurring

*Serge Houde as Sam Giancana
*Enrico Colantoni as J. Edgar Hoover
*Don Allison as Lyndon B. Johnson
*Rothaford Gray as Abraham Bolden
*Ava Preston as Caroline Kennedy
*Carson Reaume as David Kennedy

Production

Early criticism

''The Kennedys'' was the subject of negative responses from historians based on early scripts, including charges of historical inaccuracy and presenting an unflattering depiction of the titular family. On February 16, 2010, the website stopkennedysmears.com was registered by filmmaker Robert Greenwald as part of the critical response to ''The Kennedys''. On February 24, 2010 Dave Itzkoff of ''The New York Times'' reported that historian David Talbot, whose recent book had been used as source material for the miniseries, had joined those preemptively criticizing ''The Kennedys''. Ted Sorensen (1928–2010), former presidential aide and speech writer for 35th President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963, served 1961–1963), described the script as a "character assassination". At the time of all of this criticism, the miniseries had not yet even been cast.

In an interview published in ''The Los Angeles Times'' on June 17, 2010, Joel Surnow addressed the complaints, saying, "they looked at early drafts of script that don't even resemble the final draft. It was way too early for them to comment on it." However, as the British newspaper ''The Daily Telegraph'' put it: "With Greg Kinnear as Mr. Kennedy, Katie Holmes as his First Lady and a budget of $30 million dollars, expectations had been high. Now, it is widely considered a disaster on the eve of its airing on the ReelzChannel beginning on Sunday. The History Channel decided to drop the series from its schedule in January 2011, stating that it was "not a fit" for the network. There then followed a humiliating and very public quest to find another channel that would air it."

Casting

Casting the main roles was announced on April 29, 2010 by director Cassar via his Twitter account. The miniseries was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between June and September 2010, and was produced by Canadian independent studio Muse Entertainment Enterprises and Joel Surnow's production company. ''The Kennedys'' is the first original scripted series made for History Television. The budget for ''The Kennedys'' was $25 million though reports later described it as a $30 million production. The miniseries was primarily written by Stephen Kronish, who previously worked with Surnow and Cassar on '' 24''.

Historians associated with the production were Steven M. Gillon, author of the book ''The Kennedy Assassination – 24 Hours After'', and Robert Dallek.

Broadcast history

Canada

On December 16, 2010, Shaw Media announced that there would be a special screening of the miniseries to be held on March 3, 2011 in Toronto. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported on January 13, 2011 that Shaw Media would be showing ''The Kennedys'' in March 2011, but they were uncertain about whether it would remain on History Television or be moved to their broadcast network Global, or one of their other cable channels such as Showcase. The miniseries had been scheduled on History in two-hour segments at 9:00 pm beginning on March 6, 2011 and continuing for three subsequent Sundays. John Doyle, television critic for ''The Globe and Mail'' reported on January 26, 2011 that ''The Kennedys'' will be shown on History Television starting on March 9, 2011. Six days later, it was reported that Stan Hubbard, CEO of ReelzChannel, claimed that part of his acquisition deal for US rights would be worldwide premiere rights, forcing an uncertain delay in the originally announced television premiere in March 2011 on History Television in Canada. On February 1, 2011 Shaw Media announced its revised schedule for the miniseries, which was to be shown on History Television in four two-hour segments beginning on April 10, 2011.

United States

On January 7, 2011, the cable channel History announced that it would not show ''The Kennedys'' in the United States, stating "this dramatic interpretation is not a fit for the History brand."

Michael Prupas, president of Muse Entertainment and executive producer of the miniseries, issued a statement on January 10, in which he addressed the claims of inaccuracies: "The decision of the History Channel not to broadcast the show was made long after the executives of the Channel as well as the Channel's resident historian (who is a Kennedy expert) had read and approved all of the scripts and viewed and approved all of the final cuts of all of the episodes. Furthermore, our Errors and Omissions Insurer's attorneys reviewed all the scripts and edited episodes – and they have cleared all of the episodes for broadcast."

Director Jon Cassar said at the January 2011 Television Critics Association gathering in Los Angeles that he believed the reason the miniseries would not be shown by History and other US broadcasters was because powerful people within the United States connected to the Kennedy family took exception to it and used their political and other influence to prevent the showing.

Joel Surnow, the series' executive producer, attributed the cancellation to pressure exerted by the Kennedys on the board of History's owners, A&E Television Networks and The Walt Disney Company. Surnow stated: "It happened at the board level. I don't want to mention anyone by name. It's very simple to say that certain board members are friends with the Kennedys." Other reports pinpointed Kennedy family members Maria Shriver and Caroline Kennedy as the leaders of the campaign to stop the show, targeting Disney executive Anne Sweeney.

On January 12, Showtime passed on the US broadcasting rights for ''The Kennedys''. Two days later it was reported that DirecTV's The 101 Network was considering acquiring the miniseries. Ten days later, on January 24, 2011, it was announced that The 101 Network also passed on airing the show. On February 1, 2011, ReelzChannel acquired US broadcast rights to ''The Kennedys'' and announced their intention to show the miniseries between April 3 and 10, 2011. Other US cable channels reported to have declined acquisition of the miniseries are FX and Starz.

''Mediaweek'' reported that Hubbard Broadcasting, the owners of ReelzChannel, took a big risk in purchasing the rights to the miniseries by paying an estimated $7 million for the broadcast rights and spending an additional $10 million in advertising.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, History UK was scheduled to screen the miniseries beginning on April 7, 2011. Tom Davidson, managing director of AETN-UK stated on the History website: "Securing the UK premiere of ''The Kennedys'' is a major coup for the History channel. Bringing to life the story of America's most iconic family, the drama is a bold and epic account of the Kennedy dynasty and we are delighted that viewers in the UK will get to see it on History first." Writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'', TV director Sebastian Doggart commented:

Also in the UK, the BBC
...