By Jason Apuzzo. A very provocative new trailer is out for The Kennedys, the new eight-part miniseries from 24‘s Joel Surnow that will be appearing on the ReelzChannel beginning April 3rd. I would normally wait to put this trailer in a Cold War Update!, but since I just did one of those on Friday I didn’t want you folks to have to wait.
The series looks like a lot of frothy fun, and I’m looking forward to it. I’m also understanding why the major networks were so aghast by this series; this is most certainly not the sort of depiction of the Kennedy family we’re accustomed to seeing on TV. Besides potentially out-sexing Mad Men, the series also seems to make Joe Kennedy look like Chancellor Palpatine.
Joel did an interview recently with the LA Times in which he talked about the pressures he thinks the series was under from higher-ups at The History Channel, the series’ original home. We all know what those pressure were, don’t we? Thou Shalt Not Offend the Kennedys, liberalism’s Holy Family. Frankly, you’d think the Kennedys would be glad anyone even remembers them, at this point. Decades of Teddy in the Senate took a lot of lustre off that family’s image, and memories of Camelot are growing old, indeed.
My sense is that the ReelzChannel got themselves a bargain with this series – which may end up putting that channel on the map. I would also expect this series to do excellent DVD business, and potentially revive pill box hats.
Posted on March 21st, 2011 at 11:15am.
Wow … you weren’t kidding with the Joe / Palpatine comparison. That cackle when it faded to black … awesome.
I’ll have to wait for this on DVD, since I don’t get that channel.
By the way … have you played Homefront yet? I may go get it tonight.
My hope would be that they’d try to get the Kennedys DVD out soon, because a lot of people have a hard time making it through these miniseries. This one does look colorful.
No, I haven’t looked at Homefront yet. Tell us what you think once you’ve given it a try!
That is one pulpy, scandalous, juicy trailer. How did this get made at the History Channel? I can see why the networks found this controversial. If Reelz is going all out advertising this (smart move on their part) and they stick with it despite the controversy, this could be huge for them. Hey, it’s free speech, right?
I also don’t get Reelz and I’d love to see this series. Get that DVD out fast!
This is part of the damage that was done to the series by having it get shunted off to a lesser channel. Fewer people can see it, and it will have a lesser impact as a result.
Wow, this is not the usual Kennedy saga!