Joel Surnow, co-creator of 24, is shopping around a miniseries about the Kennedys. Surnow hasn’t been shy about his conservative politics, but producers for the proposed 10-episode series say it’s "neither a hatchet job nor a valentine." Alas, I was hoping for one or the other. According to the press release about the series, "It also tells the historical stories that are associated with the Kennedy era — the Bay of Pigs, the Missile Crisis, the civil rights struggle, the mob connection — each one told in the context of personal, Kennedy-family dramas."
While Surnow isn’t necessarily who I expected to be behind a Kennedy project, it’s not entirely surprising to see something linked to the famous clan emerge from the pop morass. After all, it hits a very on-trend trifecta:
President Obama Perhaps you’ve heard references to the "new Camelot"? Or people highlighting sartorial similarities between Michelle and Jackie O? Oh, you’ve heard it a lot? Me, too.
Politics in general Government, history, politics — it’s all very hot hot hot right now. And what screams "American political drama" louder than "Kennedy"? Milk and Frost/Nixon, while not big box-office draws (The Love Guru out-grossed them both), were definitely prestige-generating projects, and that’s what a cable miniseries is about: Recall John Adams, which won 13 Emmys last year. Plus, there are no fewer than seven politically-themed shows currently in development for the 2009-10 TV season.
Mad Men The Emmy-winning period drama may be in a class all its own in terms of writing and complexity. But anything can be set in the ’60s, and Mad Men’s vibrant retro style — plus its insistence that the American Dream is also part nightmare — has been spreading since the show’s debut.
So what do you think, PopWatchers? Will you be voting for a Kennedy miniseries?
Comments (1-5) of 5 Add your comment
This is the most famous politican family and everyone kwons a story about them. So the miniserie have to bring something new, to be sucessful. A secret or something else…
Thank you Margaret Lyons. I thought I was the only one who was wondering the same thing.
What took so long? Do you live under a rock? The Kennedys have been the subject of numerous mini-series and movies in the 40 years. Why do we need another one, especially that will be obviously biased from a man who finds joy in biased lies. Leave these people alone.
I’m pretty sure there already *has* been a mini-series about the Kennedys. I think it was aired in 1983 (to co-incide with the 20th anniversary of the shooting) and starred Martin Sheen as JFK.
I’m not a big fan of the Kennedy dynasty, but I do like Surnow and would probably watch. (At least the first night.)
Hopefully this will be on HBO, don’t want some sanitized network bull.