Netflix has officially announced that Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender will be portraying the leading role of Joe Kennedy Sr. in the upcoming family drama series titled, Kennedy. The show will be based on Fredrik Logevall’s acclaimed 2020 book JFK: Coming of Age In The American Century, 1917-1956, which explores the triumphs and tragedies of the Kennedy family.
What do we know about Netflix’s Kennedy show?
“Kennedy reveals the intimate lives, loves, rivalries and tragedies that shaped the most iconic dynasty in modern history, and helped create the world we live in today,” reads the official logline. “Beginning in the 1930s, the first season charts the improbable ascent of Joe and Rose Kennedy and their nine children, including rebellious second son Jack, who struggles to escape the shadow of his golden boy older brother.”
The eight-episode show hails from showrunner and executive producer Sam Shaw (Masters of Sex), with award-winning Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round) serving the director for the first and last episodes. When the project was first revealed back in 2023, it was initially described as an American version of The Crown. It is executive-produced by Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and Kaitlin Dahill for Chernin Entertainment, Eric Roth, Logevall, Lila Byock, Anya Epstein, Dustin Thomason, Vinterberg, and Anna O’Malley.
“The story of the Kennedys is the closest we have to American mythology — somewhere between Shakespeare and The Bold and the Beautiful,” Shaw said in a statement (via Tudum). “But Fredrik Logevall’s stunning, nuanced biography pulls a veil on the human strivings and burdens behind the myth, revealing as much about our present moment, how we got here and where we’re going, as about the Kennedys themselves. I’m thrilled to be able to explore this saga of a family and a world in transition with Eric Roth, Thomas Vinterberg and our incredible band of artists and partners, at a moment when our past feels urgently present.”
At the moment, this isn’t the only upcoming Netflix show that will follow the story of the Kennedys. Producer Ryan Murphy is currently filming the first season of his newest anthology series for FX titled Love Story. The first installment will follow the famous romance between American royalty John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, portrayed by Paul Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon, respectively.