The first two episodes of the eight-part miniseries “The Kennedys” will air on Sunday, April 3 on the Reelz Channel. WIth the NCAA tourney in full swing, the cablecaster will repeat them the following night and then air episodes three to six from Tuesday to Friday with the two-part finale going out on Sunday, April 11.
In January, the History Channel pulled the plug on this latest chronicling of the American political dynasty. At that time, a representative for the channel said, “After viewing the final product in its totality, we have concluded that although the film is produced and acted with the highest quality auspices, the dramatic license the series takes is not suitable for the History brand.” Announcing the acquisition Reelz CEO Stan Hubbard told Matthew Belloni (THR), “One of the benefits of being an independent network is that you can be an independent voice and you don’t have to worry about corporate pressure or political pressure. This is a project that deserves to be seen.”
The Emmy-winning duo from “24” — writers/producers Joel Surnow and Jon Cassar— were among those shepherding “The Kennedys” to the small screen. Oscar contenders Greg Kinnear and Tom Wilkinson headed up the cast as John F. Kennedy, the fallen 35th president, and his father Joseph respectively. Katie Holmes was the glamorous first lady Jacqueline Kennedy while Barry Pepper played the stalwart brother Robert F. Kennedy.
This year’s Emmys will combine Mini-Series and TV Movies into one catch-all category. In the recent past, the Emmy series race for Best Mini-Series has been between the big-budget HBO blockbusters (“The Pacific,” “John Adams”) versus the costume drama PBS/BBC co-productions (“Little Dorritt,” “Cranford”). However, the History Channel nabbed a surprise nod in the TV Movie category earlier this year for “Moonshot.”
