Kennedys in progress: Netflix drama being set up as America’s answer to ‘the Crown’

America’s distinctive political dynasty, the Kennedys are set to receive the same small screen treatment which Netflix’s The Crown excelled at.

The streaming giant is preparing an epic drama series based on Fredrik Logevall’s book, JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956.

Likely spanning decades, the serial will be titled Kennedy and “explore the triumphs and tragedies of the Kennedy family.”

Announcement

Tudum by Netflix announced the project as “‘Kennedy’, an upcoming drama series that uncovers the intimate truths at the heart of one of America’s most notorious dynasties.”

However, the show will begin “long before a Kennedy lived in the White House.”

“Instead, ‘Kennedy’ takes viewers to the 1930s as Joe Sr., his wife Rose, and their nine children begin to capture the attention of a nation,” Tudum’s report added.

The series showrunner and executive producer, Sam Shaw, told the outlet, “The story of the Kennedys is the closest we have to American mythology — somewhere between Shakespeare and ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’. 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.”

Cast

Michael Fassbender has been announced as the sole cast member so far. The Oscar nominated star will lead the show’s debut as Joe Kennedy Sr., the family patriarch.

Director

Perhaps an interesting choice to helm the series with a quintessentially stateside subject, Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg will direct the series’ first and last episodes, according to Tudum.

Moreover, the first season will feature a total of eight episodes.