The History Channel Drops Historically Inaccurate “The Kennedys” Mini Series

(HMG Celebrity News) – The History Channel has dropped The Kennedys, which was set to air in the spring, and will no longer carry the 8-part miniseries in the US.   The miniseries starring Greg Kinnear (as JFK), Katie Holmes (as Jacqueline Kennedy), Barry Pepper (as Bobby Kennedy), and Tom Wilkinson (as Joseph Kennedy), cost the network millions of dollars to produce and it took months to shoot, with many rewrites, but they ultimately decided that the series took too many liberties with the facts.  “The Kennedys,” was supposed to be the History channels first major move into scripted programming, with a big budget high-profile cast, and a well-known Emmy Award-winning producer Joel Surnow.  Surnow who was the creator and former executive producer of the Fox series “24” is well known for his conservative politics.  On Friday the cable channel said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter: “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.”  “We recognize historical fiction is an important medium for storytelling and commend all the hard work and passion that has gone into the making of the series, but ultimately deem this as the right programming decision for our network.”

An A&E spokesperson confirmed the cancellation was not due to any advertiser complaints or threats, and strictly attributed to the content not being considered historically accurate enough by the network.

The miniseries is still scheduled to air in Canada on March 6, and producers will reportedly try to bring the miniseries to a pay cable network in the US.