TV series
2011 · 1 season · 8 ep · Drama
TMDB 6.5/10 (87 votes)
The triumphs and tragedies of the most popular political family in American history.
Created by Joel Surnow, Stephen Kronish
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Joel SurnowCreatorStephen KronishCreator
Greg Kinnearas Jack Kennedy
Barry Pepperas Robert F. Kennedy
Katie Holmesas Jackie Kennedy
Tom Wilkinsonas Joe Kennedy Sr.
Diana Hardcastleas Rose Kennedy
Kristin Boothas Ethel KennedyCast & crew political lean — 2 of 8 researched: 0 left · 0 center · 0 right · 2 no public record. Based only on cited public statements, endorsements, and documented donations.
The Kennedys is a 2011 television miniseries chronicling the lives of the political Kennedy family, including key triumphs and tragedies it has experienced. It stars Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Katie Holmes, and Tom Wilkinson, 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.
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
Chris Diamantopoulos as Frank Sinatra
Charlotte Sullivan as Marilyn Monroe
Gabriel Hogan as Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
Ryan Blakely as Lee Harvey Oswald
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
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. Eight days later, 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 even been cast yet.
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 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.
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.
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. On January 24, it was announced that The 101 Network also passed on airing the show. Eight days later, 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.
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:
This is an amazing example of double standards. How can AETN call the series "not a fit" for the US History Channel, but describe this "bold and epic account" as "a major coup" for the UK's History channel? AETN has suggested that the reason is that the US History Channel is especially concerned about its historically truthful brand. So what is the channel broadcasting this Sunday night, in the same time-slot as The Kennedys over on Reelz? The answer: Ax Men, a reality show about loggers; and Swamp People, another reality show about alligator hunters.
Also in the UK, the BBC presented the series, beginning Friday, June 17, 2011, in both standard definition and HD.
The series began broadcasting in Serbia on B92 beginning on May 6, 2011; in Republic of Ireland on RTÉ One beginning on May 21, 2011; and in Australia on ABC1, beginning on May 22, 2011.
In Italy the series aired on History Channel starting on June 7, 2011, in France on France 3 in Summer 2011, Finland on YLE TV1 beginning on September 16, 2011, and in Ireland on RTÉ Two that same fall. In Spain, Cosmopolitan Television started broadcasting the series on Jan 29, 2012.
In China, the series aired on LeTV.com Archived March 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine in SD (Free VOD) and HD (Subscription VOD) beginning March 16, 2012, Slovakia on Jednotka beginning April 28, 2012, Germany on Arte on July 26, 2012. and in Indiaon History TV 18 that June. In Romania, the miniseries aired on TVR1 in December 2013, and Sweden aired it on SVT in November 2013, 50 years after the assassination of President Kennedy.
John Doyle of The Globe and Mail wrote, "it is awful – truly, mind-bogglingly tedious television." "The series (made in Canada with Muse Entertainment as the production company) looks cheap and sticks to the TV dramatics level of an afternoon soap opera." Doyle makes note of the predominantly Canadian cast and hopes they get a career boost but that the miniseries was "boosted by a fake controversy" and believes that "the American History Channel dropped it because it's bad TV."
The miniseries met with a mixed reception from US critics. Based on 24 reviews from mainstream critics, it received an average score of 50/100 at Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald noted that there is no mention of Joseph and Rose Kennedy's other children, including the future Senator Ted Kennedy and Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington, and that it feels as though you are watching "through the prism of the Fringe universe". Perigard found it to be "an absorbing, addictive drama, with some authentic performances" but not history.
Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times wrote a joint review of The Kennedys and of The Borgias, which premiered the same day. In addressing the circumstances of the premiere she wrote, "There is something wonderfully Kennedyesque about a backroom campaign to discredit a series that claims the Kennedy White House had more than its share of backroom shenanigans." Stanley found the miniseries to be well made though at times cheesy, but that its strongest point is Tom Wilkinson as Joseph Kennedy, whom she describes, in tandem with Rodrigo Borgia, as "A ruthless, tyrannical striver (who) grasps for power, promoting his sons to establish his rule and cement his legacy".
Hank Stuever of The Washington Post found the miniseries "all ends up being as harmless as a game of Kennedy paper dolls" and the assassinations to be portrayed quite gently considering how violent Joel Surnow's show 24 is. Stuever describes the screenplay as clumsy and find the miniseries "sketches its characters with the precision of a fat Sharpie marker" and cautions those who recall the time that they may be troubled watching the story "through Surnow and company's mean-spirited gaze". In moving on to review Camelot, which premiered three days before The Kennedys, Stuever wrote, "If you check your calendar, we're nearing the 50th anniversary of JFK's death, which makes him, his family and Cabinet members as fair game as King Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin and the gang, who've had their stories updated, revised and pillaged for centuries now."
In the UK, the series was shown on the History Channel in April 2011 and on BBC Two and BBC HD in June 2011. Public response were generally positive.
The Kennedys was released on DVD in the UK on July 18, 2011, and in the US and Canada on September 20, 2011.
As of October 2011, The Kennedys was available as an app, digital download on iTunes and on Netflix's streaming media service. As of December 2025, it is available to stream on Tubi, Amazon Prime, and Pluto TV.
Holmes reprised her role in The Kennedys: After Camelot, a four-part sequel released on April 2, 2017. She was also executive producer of the miniseries and directed an episode, with Jon Cassar returning to direct the remaining three episodes.
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